Forgive Me
by Lady-Ravenhawk
Summary: Tensions are high as the Z-Warriors prepare for the coming battle foretold by the Fates. Trunks tries to hide the truth from Catie about his mistake in an effort to protect her, but the guilt is eating him alive. Lindsey still won't forgive Catie for accidentally killing Gohan, despite the fact that he was revived, and everyone else is caught in the middle. (Part 6 in my series)
1. Frustration

"Okay, got my tent, my clothes, tackle box," Son Gohan muttered to himself as he stood near the front door of his home, going over his mental checklist. "Fishing pole…" He paused and frowned. "Hey, babe, have you seen my fishing pole?" he called loudly over his shoulder.

"I put it in the back of the truck for you already!" his wife's voice rang from the kitchen.

"Good," he said and looked over the stack of supplies piled up against the wall. "I think that's everything."

"Here. Help… me."

He turned to see his wife struggling to pull a large blue cooler into the living room.

"Don't hurt yourself," he teased, picking it up easily and balancing it on his right shoulder.

She had gone rather red in the face and was panting. "Just trying to help out."

"What did you pack in here?" he asked, glancing at the cooler.

"As much food as humanly possible," she answered. "I don't see how one cooler is going to get you through three nights of camping. Not with the way you eat, at least."

Gohan chuckled. "We usually don't take food when we're camping. Dad and I fish a lot."

"Well that makes more sense," she sighed. "Oh well. Take it with you anyway. I know it won't go to waste."

"You're gonna be okay while I'm gone, right?" he asked as he pulled open the front door and headed out to the drive way.

Lindsey followed him, grabbing his tent and bag of clothes as she went and blinking at the bright, early morning sunlight. "Oh yeah. I'll be fine. Leelee and Eighteen are coming over tonight. We're gonna have a girls' night."

"Girls' night, huh?" Gohan asked, setting the cooler in the bed of the old truck. "What does that entail, exactly?"

"Manicures, facials, sappy chick-flicks and more chocolate than you'd think it was possible to consume," she grinned, tossing the tent and duffle bag into the back of the truck.

"I'll take my camping trip," he said, shaking his head. Girls were so weird.

"I wish Jenny could come to girls' night," Lindsey pouted, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, I wish Piccolo could come camping, too, but you know, they have that doctor's appointment first thing tomorrow morning."

"I can't believe they're having another one already," Lindsey said, shaking her head.

Gohan grinned. "They're getting way ahead of us. We won't be able to catch up if they keep on like this."

Lindsey's green eyes snapped wide. "They have already won that race, as far as I'm concerned."

Gohan sighed. "I thought you said we could have one someday."

Lindsey bit her lip and turned away from her husband's disappointed gaze. After everything they'd gone through with helping Piccolo and Jenny rescue their daughter, Lindsey had pretty well made up her mind that she didn't want kids of her own. Ever. Closing her eyes for a moment to calm herself, she turned back around and smiled at Gohan. "Let's not argue right now. We can talk about it when you get back from your trip."

"Promise?"

She nodded and chewed the inside of her cheek.

"Anyway," she said. "At least Trunks is going with you. It'll be good for him to get a break."

"Nope," Gohan answered. "Vegeta won't let him."

"He's twenty years old for crying out loud!" Lindsey protested. "And his dad won't let him go camping for a weekend?"

"I know," Gohan said, rolling his eyes. "Vegeta's obsessed with using every waking second to train. Ever since the Fates told us that a war's coming, he won't do anything but train, eat and sleep. And he's keeping Trunks and Catie on the same schedule as himself. Dad tried to convince him to take a couple days off and come with us, but Vegeta wouldn't hear it."

"That's ridiculous. We have up to three years before they could show up."

"Maybe," Gohan said, placing the last of his gear into the back of the truck and running a bungee cord over the top of it to hold everything in place. "But Vegeta's convinced it will only be one. He thinks we're all a bunch of lazy bums for taking a weekend off."

"But we've been training," Lindsey said.

"I know, I know," Gohan answered.

"So who all IS going to be there?"

"Me, Dad, Seventeen, Krillin, Tien and Yamcha, I suppose."

"Well at least you have one cooler of food," she snickered.

"Hmm?" he looked up at her quizzically.

"If Seventeen's going, all he's going to pack is beer."

Gohan chuckled. "I didn't think about that. You're probably right." He hooked the bungee on the opposite side of the truck. "I think that's it."

"Okay, well, you be careful and have fun," Lindsey smiled as he walked back to her side of the truck. "Don't get into any trouble."

"Trouble? Me? Neverrrrrr," Gohan grinned and wrapped his arms around her.

"Love you," she said and pressed her lips to his.

Gohan broke the kiss and said, "Love you too."

Lindsey returned to the covered front porch and leaned against the railing to watch him leave. Once the truck had disappeared over the first hill, she sighed and went back in the house, wondering what on earth she was going to do with herself for three days. She wasn't used to being alone. But at least Leelee and Eighteen were coming to spend the night with her. She didn't know Eighteen as well as Leelee did, but Eighteen had always been nice to her so she supposed it would be nice to hang out with her for a bit.

Lindsey sat down on the couch and pulled the large, blue paperback into her lap and flipped it open. Grabbing the remote, she clicked on the TV just for some background noise and began to read. Ever since Urdh had told her to remember the Fates and to keep the Old Ways like her grandmother had, Lindsey had become rather engrossed in reading about the old religion. She was amazed at how much she agreed with it, how much it made sense to her.

Gohan had humored her and gone into town with her to purchase the books from a New Age shop that smelled of herbs and incense, its walls lined with books of every size. He'd found a book about world religions that he thought might be interesting to read, although he didn't particularly consider himself religious. It was just something he'd never given much thought to. But he was always eager to learn something new, so he purchased the one book to Lindsey's dozen that she picked out.

Lindsey ran her fingers down the page, her eyes scanning over the protective symbols and their meanings. If a war really was coming, especially as quickly as Vegeta seemed to think, she figured they could use all the help they could get. She may not be training today, but a little research never hurt anyone. Without tearing her eyes from the page, she pulled her pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one, inhaling deeply and settled back into the couch with the book resting on her crossed legs.

* * *

"Do it again," Vegeta barked.

Without hesitation, Catie flew at Trunks, swinging her right arm with all her might. Trunks threw his arms up and blocked her with his forearm, taking a couple steps back as she spun on one leg and slammed the heel of her foot into his thigh. He couldn't believe her speed at fifty times normal gravity. Any other human would have been nearly crushed by it.

Vegeta leaned against the wall of the gravity room, his arms crossed over his chest, watching the sparring match. He didn't like what he was seeing. Catie was hesitant, unsure of herself. And Trunks refused to fight back – all he did was block and defend himself as though he were a living punching bag. Vegeta narrowed his eyes and frowned at them. He'd taught them better than this.

"STOP," he barked.

They froze immediately and turned to look at him.

"What are you idiots doing?" he snarled. "If you're not going to take this seriously, then get out! You're wasting my time."

"No!" Catie protested. "I'm trying! I-"

"You're questioning yourself," Vegeta interrupted. "Learn from your mistakes, don't be hindered by them."

Catie swallowed and nodded. She shook her right hand involuntarily as the ghostly feel brushed her palm again – she could still feel the vine snapping tight in her hand as Gohan fell through the window of the castle. She thought she'd been hiding her nervousness well, but Vegeta had seen right through it. She mentally scolded herself. She should've known he would catch on. She didn't want to admit it, but the memory was bothering her more and more every day. If Lindsey hadn't been so mad at her, she thought that perhaps it wouldn't bother her so bad. But she understood why Lindsey hated her now. If the Fates hadn't stepped in, Gohan would still be dead.

"Now do it right," Vegeta growled and leaned back against the wall again.

Catie powered up, her hair turning a shocking bright green and her eyes a brilliant shade of purple. She flew at Trunks again, who swiftly blocked her. With a growl she attacked with everything she had, punching and kicking so fast it would have been hard for anyone to keep track of her movements. Even with the increased gravity, she and Trunks hovered in midair, their energy suspending them over the hard metal floor.

Trunks used to enjoy sparring with Catie, always keeping his power level just above hers, to irritate her and make her fight harder, to want it more. On occasion, when she wasn't expecting it, he would throw her a really good punch or sweep her feet out from under her, laughing at the angry expression on her face. But what Catie lacked in strength, she made up for in technique and speed, and because of this, they were often evenly matched.

But not today. Trunks had had a particularly fretful night's sleep, reliving his moments with Mohini in his dreams. He'd been dreaming of her often and he always awoke feeling sick and disgusted with himself and fearing that Catie would hear him speaking in his sleep. Catie was still maintaining a certain amount of coldness with Trunks, and she didn't even know a fraction of the things he'd done. He swore to himself that he would never tell her; he couldn't hurt her any more. Unfortunately, that vow to never hurt her again was spilling over into their training sessions and Trunks found himself unable to even throw her a simple punch.

"Hit her back!" Vegeta commanded as though he had heard Trunks' thoughts.

Trunks ignored his father and continued to block Catie's attack. In the blink of an eye, Vegeta flew at him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and slamming Trunks' back against the ceiling.

"What's the matter with you, boy?" Vegeta snarled. "You think this is playtime?"

"Father," Trunks gasped as Vegeta's knuckles pressed harshly against his collarbones, pinning him against the ceiling.

"What's your deal?" Vegeta asked in a dangerously low voice, his eyes searching Trunks' face.

"I can't hurt her again," Trunks choked out.

"What nonsense are you talking about now?"

"I hurt her enough as it is," Trunks answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'll not do it again, in any way."

Vegeta released his grip on Trunks' shirt. "Unbelievable." He lowered himself back to the floor and stared at Catie, who had grabbed a bottle of water. "Where's your sister?"

Catie turned to him and blinked. "My sister? She's probably at home with my mom, back in the…"

"I meant Jennifer, you moron," he barked.

"Ohhhh," Catie said. That made a lot more sense. Vegeta had never met any of Catie's family. She wasn't even sure he knew she had a sister. "Jenny said she'd be here. I don't know where she is."

"I'm so disappointed in all three of you," Vegeta said in a low voice. "I've got not one but _two_ of you who are afraid to hurt each other in a _sparring_ match, and one who can't keep her damn legs closed long enough to stop getting herself knocked up!"

Trunks and Catie cringed and looked guiltily at each other.

"Trunks, get out."

Trunks' eyes went wide. "What?"

"You heard me. I said get out."

"You're not going to train with me anymore?" Trunks sounded hurt and disappointed as he dropped back to the floor.

"Of course I'm still going to train with you, you imbecile," Vegeta snapped. "But I'm done training you as a group. The three of you might as well be playing patty-cake instead of fighting. No, from now on, it's one-on-one training with me. Now get out."

"Father, you're being unreasonable," Trunks tried to protest.

"Am I?" Vegeta shouted. "May I remind you, we all nearly had our asses handed to us in that castle and I will not be humiliated like that again! Neither will I continue to be embarrassed by any of you. Jenny is the only one who's actually trying around here anymore, but she can't progress because neither of you two will throw her a decent punch!"

"She's pregnant!" Trunks argued. "You can't expect me to beat up on her in that condition!"

Vegeta snorted. "Condition. She knows the risk she takes when she gets herself in that situation. At least I have her to be proud of. She's not afraid to fight."

Catie stared at the floor, guilt and embarrassment washing over her. She'd always been the one to earn most of Vegeta's praise (no matter how little he offered it) and hearing him say he was only proud of Jenny now really hurt her feelings. She'd fought in the castle, too. She'd helped bring down the Minotaur when everyone else was useless against it. She'd braved going back through the castle to try and find a new way to reach Piccolo's kidnapped daughter. And she'd single-handedly fought against Gohan, who at one time had been the most powerful of all the Saiyans. But no, none of that mattered now because she was still too shook up from accidentally killing Gohan in that battle and was afraid to do permanent damage to someone she cared about. She involuntarily shook her hand again.

"Now get out," Vegeta said again. "I'm going to make her work for it. And when I'm done with her, it's your turn."

Trunks huffed and crossed the room, pressing the keypad beside the door and waiting for it to slide open.

"I'm here!" Jenny cried as the door slid open. She was breathing a little heavy as though she'd just run the length of Capsule Corp to get to the gravity room.

"OUT!" Vegeta bellowed as Trunks grabbed Jenny by the elbow and pulled her out of the room with him.

The doors slid shut behind them and Jenny blinked up at Trunks in confusion. "Did I miss something?"

* * *

Author's Note: Here's the start of the new story, as promised! If you're new to my stories, I suggest going back and reading the previous ones that have led up to this. In order they are: The New Z-Fighters, Z-Girls, Fast and Furious Z-Girls, Unforgettable, and Through the Storm. Be Warned: The first two are pretty silly (I wrote them a long time ago.) The third is so-so. I plan on rewriting them at some point. Reviews are always very much appreciated!


	2. Girls' Night

"Ah, this is nice," Krillin sighed, leaning back in his lawn chair as the campfire crackled in the early evening light.

"We should do this more often," Goku agreed, setting aside his plate. "Man, I'm stuffed."

"You know, Gohan, you could save the studying for some other time," Yamcha teased.

Gohan was lying on his chest in a flattened lounge chair, his nose inches above his book. He was far more intrigued by the various religious practices than he had expected to be. He glanced up from his book and closed it. "Sorry."

"I blame your mother," Goku sighed.

Gohan laughed. "I just enjoy reading. Can't help it."

"So did Eighteen end up going to your house, Gohan?" Seventeen asked.

"I think so," he answered.

"Oh yeah," Krillin muttered. "And you should've seen all the stuff she bought to take with her."

Tien cocked an eyebrow in question.

"She said she had to have all new nail polish and I don't know what all it was. Some kind of stuff you put on your face…" he trailed off for a moment. "I don't understand women."

Goku laughed. "Me either."

"Ah, it's not that hard," Seventeen said, popping open a can of beer. "Just nod and say, 'Yes dear, now make me a sammich'."

Gohan snorted in laughter and Krillin cried, "HA! Like I'd get away with saying that to your sister!"

"She ain't so scary," Seventeen muttered.

"I wonder what they're up to," Gohan said thoughtfully, beginning to worry about how his house may look when he returned home.

"Don't worry about it," Goku said, playfully shoving Gohan's shoulder. "We came out here to relax. The girls are having fun on their own."

"That's what I'm worried about," Gohan mumbled.

* * *

"Knock, knock!" Jenny called, cracking open the front door of Lindsey's house.

"Jenny!" Leelee squealed, jumping up and hugging her friend. "I thought you couldn't come tonight?"

"I can't stay all night, but I promised Piccolo I wouldn't be out late," she grinned. She handed a bag to Leelee, who peered inside.

"ICE CREAM!" Leelee squealed and ran to the kitchen to put it away before it melted.

"Hey girl!" Lindsey smiled, returning to the living room with an armful of beauty products. She dumped them unceremoniously on the coffee table. "You're just in time for make-overs!"

"What are we, twelve?" Jenny snickered.

"We are for the night, apparently," Eighteen answered. She was sitting on the floor behind the coffee table, fumbling with the remote.

"Ooooh!" Leelee said as she returned to the living room, sitting down and picking up a tiny bottle. "I want pink polish!"

Lindsey and Jenny sat down at the coffee table as well. "I don't even know what half this stuff is that you bought, Eighteen," Lindsey said.

Eighteen finally got their movie started and set the remote down. "Try this," she said, picking up a large bottle and handing it to Lindsey. "It's supposed to remove impurities on your skin."

"Peeling mask?" Lindsey asked, accepting the bottle and looking at it. "Sounds painful."

Eighteen snickered. "It's not so bad."

Lindsey squeezed some of the clear, cold gel into her hand and began to swipe it across her face. "Ew, it feels weird."

"We're never girly enough anymore," Jenny sighed. "I miss the old days of going out dancing."

Leelee shrugged. "If you weren't always preggers, maybe we could."

Jenny blushed. "It's not like I planned this."

Leelee elbowed her in the side. "I'm just givin' ya shit."

"Ooooh, a mud mask," Jenny smiled. "I'll try this one."

Lindsey went to the kitchen to wash her hands and by the time she came back, Jenny and Eighteen had both covered their faces in thick, green mud.

"You two look like swamp-thing," Lindsey muttered, sitting back down.

Eighteen grabbed a small mirror from the table and looked at herself, then threw her head back and laughed. "No wonder Krillin avoids me when I put this on!"

Lindsey's face was starting to feel tight and she moved her jaw side-to-side, wincing. "Is it supposed to feel this tight?"

Eighteen snickered again.

"Quit making faces like that, you look retarded," Leelee stated, propping her foot up on the table and painting her toes. The bright pink stood out in sharp contrast against her ebony skin.

"Wax strips?" Jenny asked, picking up a box. "The hell are you all waxing?"

"Everything from my nose down," Lindsey answered, grabbing a bottle of red polish.

Jenny flung the box away from her. "Oh fuck no."

Leelee was gasping for air as she laughed. "Oh my god… Lindsey… you did not just say that!"

"It's better than shaving it," Eighteen said seriously. "No one wants to cut themselves like that." She reached over and picked up the box. "I meant to take this home, though. I didn't meant to bring it here."

"Yeah, but," Jenny screwed up her face at the thought. "OUCH. Waxing? Down there? Oh my god."

"I can't move my lips," Lindsey said, her face barely moving as she spoke.

"I am not waxing anybody's lady parts tonight," Eighteen proclaimed.

Leelee nearly choked on her soda. "Oh come on, Eighteen," she laughed, "don't you love me?"

"Not that much," Eighteen sneered. "I see enough of you snogging my brother, I don't need anything else in my head that contributes to the visual."

Leelee continued to laugh as she picked up the box and flipped it over to read the directions. "Dammit, where are the guys when you need 'em?"

It was Jenny's turn to laugh. "As if they'd let us wax something on them."

"Seventeen would, if we could get him drunk enough," Leelee said thoughtfully.

Lindsey wanted to protest, but the goop on her face had dried so much, all she could do was vehemently shake her head.

"I think you can peel that stuff off now," Eighteen said.

Starting at the corner of her mouth, Lindsey scraped her nail against the mask until she could pinch a piece of it enough to peel it away from her skin. "Ow, ow, ow, ow." It felt like pulling duct tape off of her face.

"How thick did you put that on?" Eighteen snickered.

"Too thick, apparently," Lindsey said out of the corner of her mouth. "Screw wax, we can use this stuff."

The girls were rolling with laughter by the time Lindsey had removed the mask completely. She kept rubbing her face and at one point had proclaimed that she was going to lose her eyebrows completely.

"Jesus," Lindsey hissed.

"Does your skin feel clean?" Jenny teased.

"Yeah, considering I just removed a whole layer of it."

"I'm starting to crack," Jenny said, looking at her own face in the mirror.

"Time to wash this off," Eighteen said, getting to her feet. She and Jenny disappeared down the hallway to the bathroom.

Leelee grabbed the remote and clicked off the TV. "I think we need some music instead, she announced, pulling a CD from her bag that was lying behind her on the couch. She popped it in the stereo and clicked it on. The soundtrack from Moulin Rouge began to play.

"Ooooh, good choice," Lindsey smiled.

"So, I was kind'a thinking about something," Leelee said nervously as Eighteen and Jenny returned to the living room.

"What?" Eighteen asked.

"I was looking at some photography online, and, well…" Leelee hesitated. "I saw these pictures that I thought looked really cool. Like, pictures you take to give your boyfriend."

Lindsey raised her eyebrow skeptically.

"Oh my god, Leelee," Eighteen growled. "First you wanna wax your crotch and now you want to shoot porn?!"

"NO!" Leelee cried. "Nothing like that! Just, you know, tasteful pictures, but still sexy."

"It might be nice to remember what I look like when I'm not pregnant," Jenny said, looking down at her still flat stomach.

Lindsey giggled. "I wonder what Gohan would think if I gave him pictures like that."

"He'd love it," Leelee insisted.

Jenny stopped to think about Piccolo's reaction to an album of pictures of her. She wasn't sure what he would say, but the expression on his face would be priceless. "Let's do it."

The girls quickly set to work, fixing their makeup and hair, singing loudly to the Moulin Rouge song, and Jenny and Leelee even stopped once to do a ridiculous version of the can-can dance. They tried to get the other girls to join them but Eighteen was laughing too hard and Lindsey insisted that she was far too clumsy.

"What are we gonna wear?" Jenny asked after they were satisfied with their hair and makeup.

"I have a bunch of lingerie that Yelena gave me," Lindsey said. "Some of it I haven't even worn yet."

The girls raced up the stairs to Lindsey's bedroom.

"AGH! It's like your bed from the warehouse!" Leelee cried happily.

The king size bed had four large, black posts and was draped with a gorgeous black and red comforter.

"Ain't no sleeping going on in that bed," Eighteen snickered.

Lindsey blushed.

"So where is it?" Jenny asked.

"Top drawer," Lindsey said, pointing to a large dresser.

Jenny pulled the drawer open and retrieved a huge bunch of lace and silk, then dumped it on the bed.

"I see something pink!" Leelee cried and pulled it from the pile.

"Ooooh," Jenny smiled, picking a blue and lace number.

"So who goes first?" Eighteen asked.

"Me! Me! Me!" Leelee cried, already ripping her shirt and jeans off and slipping into the black and pink mesh outfit. Vertical stripes ran up and down her body, leaving nearly nothing to the imagination.

"Your friend Yelena has good taste," Eighteen said, looking through the pile of clothing.

"She likes the taste of money," Jenny said, thinking of her petite, dark-haired Russian friend.

Lindsey had gone to get her camera and returned to the bedroom with it in her hands. "Who's playing photographer?"

"I will," Eighteen offered, taking the camera.

Leelee moved the remaining lingerie from the bed and crawled across the comforter.

"If any of you make a duck face, I will murder you," Eighteen warned, lifting the camera to her face.

Eighteen began snapping shots of Leelee as Jenny and Lindsey gave suggestions.

"Tilt your head to the side. Yeah, just like that."

"Relax your face."

"Stick your ass up more."

After several pictures had been taken, Leelee was nervously chewing her lip and looking at them with questioning eyes.

"What's wrong?" Jenny asked.

"Can I… Well, I was kind'a thinking…" she trailed off.

"Yes, get naked. We don't care," Lindsey sighed.

"EEEEEEEEE!" Leelee squealed.

"Just don't tell my brother I was the one who took these of you," Eighteen begged as Leelee stripped. "And no crotch shots!"

Leelee giggled as she lay back across the bed, folding one leg carefully over the other and pressing her chest into the comforter.

"Gohan would DIE if he knew what was going on in his bed right now," Jenny giggled.

"Then he'd die happy, wouldn't he?" Lindsey laughed.

"Then let's make him really happy," Leelee teased. "Get up here."

Lindsey blinked at her. "You… want me… to get naked with you? What?!"

Leelee threw her head back and laughed. "C'mon. Seventeen and Gohan would love it."

"Seventeen might," Lindsey muttered. "I don't know how Gohan would feel about Seventeen seeing naked pictures of me."

"Okay, lingerie then," Leelee compromised, pulling on a white, lacy teddy.

"All right," Lindsey agreed. She selected a lacy black piece and slipped it on, then got on the bed next to Leelee.

"Oh lord, this is going to turn into porn," Eighteen mumbled.

"Like you all don't watch porn," Leelee countered. "Don't lie to me, Eighteen."

Eighteen went red and ducked behind the camera again.

"What am I supposed to do?" Lindsey squeaked.

"It's okay," Leelee said, wrapping her fingers behind Lindsey's neck. "I know it's your first time. I'll be gentle."

Jenny fell on the floor laughing. Eighteen had to actually put the camera down and leave the room to catch her breath.

"You are creepy," Lindsey scolded.

"Come on, come on," Leelee said to the girls. "Now be serious." Lindsey was standing on her knees on the bed, and Leelee slid her left leg behind Lindsey's thigh, pulling her close. She brought her mouth close to Lindsey's and looked out the corner of her eye at the camera as Eighteen snapped a shot. The girls posed together in various shots, always hinting at doing something naughty, but never quite going that far. Lindsey finally got into the moment and even hooked the strap of Leelee's lingerie in her teeth, tugging it down as Leelee feigned surprise.

"Okay, Jenny your turn," Leelee announced, shoving Lindsey away.

"Just throw me out on my ass," Lindsey muttered playfully.

"Like a cheap ho!" Leelee cried.

"Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?" Jenny asked as she crawled onto the bed, wearing the dark blue and lace number. It had a V-cut that came down past her waist and she had pulled on a pair of heels.

"Here, stand up," Leelee instructed.

"You poke holes in that comforter and there will be hell to pay," Lindsey warned.

"Now act like you're pulling my hair," Leelee said as she got on her knees between Jenny's legs.

"THIS IS NOT PORN!" Eighteen shouted in frustration. "Tasteful, my ass."

"Oh hush," Leelee said as Jenny nervously grabbed her friend's braids.

"This is hot," Jenny giggled after several poses with Leelee.

"You gonna give some of these to Piccolo?" Lindsey asked.

Jenny laughed nervously. "I don't know about that. I don't know what he would think."

"Oh come on," Leelee said. "All guys fantasize about being with two women."

Jenny shook her head. "I just don't see Piccolo being like that." She paused for a second and shot a sultry look at the camera as Leelee posed with her mouth open tantalizingly close to Jenny's neck and Eighteen snapped the picture.

"Okay, enough of Leelee," Eighteen said. "That's like two hundred photos of you."

"Jenny's turn!" Leelee cried gleefully and hopped off the bed.

"Oh lord," Jenny moaned. Now that she was on her own, she wasn't quite sure what to do. It had been easier to direct Leelee because she could see how the shot would look. She uncertainly laid chest-down on the bed and lifted her feet, crossing her ankles.

Leelee took over Jenny's job as director and Jenny was grateful for it. If left to her own devices, she was afraid she would look like a fool.

"Stick your ass up," Leelee said. "No, not like that. Oh my god, Jenny."

Jenny was twisted at an awkward angle and laughing. "I can't…" She gasped, bouncing her butt up higher. "It won't go up like that!"

Leelee tried to walk to Jenny's side, but doubled over with laughter. "Stoppit. Stoppit. I can't breathe!"

Jenny continued to bounce, shaking the bed as the other girls collapsed in fits of laughter.

"My… ass… only… goes… so… far…" She laughed, punctuating every word with a bounce. She finally fell to her side, laughing so hard tears were rolling down her cheeks.

Eighteen was gasping for air. "Why don't I hang out with you all more often?" she giggled, wiping the corner of her eye with her fingertips. "You girls are hilarious."

Jenny finally collected herself and sat up on her knees. "Okay, enough fucking around. I'm gonna be brave like Leelee," she announced, pulling off the lingerie.

"YES!" Leelee cried, throwing her arms in the air. "I HAVE CORRUPTED JENNY!"

"Your work here is done," Eighteen said.

Whether inspired by Leelee's confidence or just throwing all caution to the wind, Jenny found a certain liberation being nude in front of the camera. She got very into the moment, striking alluring poses, twisting and bending her body to create intriguing shapes and angles.

"Wow," Lindsey said in awe. "Piccolo's gonna shit when he sees this."

Jenny paused for a moment. "Oh yeah, these are for him. I forgot."

Lindsey and Leelee collapsed in a fit of giggles again.

"Okay," Jenny finally sighed. "Lindsey, your turn."

Lindsey drew a deep breath and climbed onto the bed as Jenny grabbed a bathrobe and threw it over herself.

"Unleash your inner whore," Leelee said encouragingly.

Lindsey snorted and tried to mimic some of the poses Leelee and Jenny had done.

"Copycat whore is a copycat," Leelee muttered, sitting on the floor.

Lindsey pursed her lips and glared at Leelee. "Fine," she snapped. "How about this?" She curled one leg around the bedpost and arched her back, hanging off of it and letting her hair swing.

"Oooh!" Eighteen grinned, snapping the camera.

Lindsey climbed up the big post, crossed her legs over it and proceeded to hang upside down. "Take it before my face goes red!"

Jenny laughed as Eighteen clicked the camera again.

"Now do it naked!" Leelee cried.

Biting her lip nervously, Lindsey stripped away the already revealing lingerie and resumed her place on the post. "Gohan's gonna kill me."

"No he won't," Eighteen said. "He's going to love this."

Satisfied with the number of photos Lindsey had taken, Eighteen proceeded to climb on the bed and put the other girls to shame. Eighteen's love for fashion included logging many hours perusing magazines off all types and she had obviously picked up on poses from the models contained therein.

"Holy shit," Jenny breathed as she snapped photo after photo of the beautiful android. "Eighteen, you make us look bad."

"Nah," Eighteen grinned as Jenny snapped the final picture. "You think we're good?"

"For the moment," Leelee said. "Keep that camera handy. You never know what we'll come up with next."

"I'm hungry," Lindsey said. "Let's get some snacks and watch a movie."

After dressing in tank tops and pajama pants or shorts, the girls headed down to the kitchen to grab ice cream, cookies, chips and sodas. They plopped themselves in front of the TV as Eighteen started the movie over. Soft music queued up and a female voice spoke from the TV speakers, "For more than two hundred years, we Owens women have been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong in this town…"

* * *

"Seventeen, goddammit!" Gohan roared.

Seventeen ran across the campsite, disappearing into the darkness, laughing manically.

Gohan sat up and wiped the shaving cream from his face and glared at his father and Krillin, who were snickering on the other side of the fire.

"That's what you get for being the first to fall asleep!" Krillin laughed.

"I didn't mean to," Gohan said, flicking his wrist, attempting to fling the white foam from his fingers. "That fire's hypnotic."

Tien eyed Seventeen's laughing figure warily. "I'm tying my tent shut tonight."

"I know what will wake you up," Yamcha said getting to his feet.

Gohan blinked up at him. "What?"

"Come on," Yamcha said, making a big wave with his arm and started walking away towards the river. It was a sultry night and the stars were gleaming brightly over head. "It's hot anyway."

Gohan and the others got up and followed him, Seventeen following at a distance just far enough behind that he could run if Gohan turned on him. Yamcha didn't stop walking until he reached a large tree on the riverbank. He pulled off his shoes and shirt, stripping down to his boxers, then grabbed a large rope that hung from the tree.

"Swimming?" Tien asked. "It's nearly midnight!"

"And it's hot as hell out here," Yamcha replied. He took a couple steps back, gripping the rope tightly, then lifted his feet and swung far out over the river, releasing the rope and falling into the cool water with a loud splash.

"Sounds good to me!" Goku grinned, grabbing the rope as it swung back. He soon joined Yamcha, flipping in the air once before splashing into the water.

"Well, it's one way to keep myself awake, I guess," Gohan chuckled.

"It's like being a kid again," Krillin laughed as he watched Gohan swing on the rope and drop into the water.

"With Goku around, what would you expect?" Tien answered.

"I know that's right," Krillin said.

The guys spent the better part of an hour swinging on the rope and roughhousing in the water. Now wide awake from the cold water, Gohan flopped on the small, sandy beach, most of his body still in the gently rushing water, and lay back to stare up at the sky.

Tien saw him and came to sit next to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Gohan answered. "Just got a lot on my mind."

"Anything you wanna talk about?"

Gohan shook his head, still staring up at the stars. "Just something Lindsey said earlier. No big deal."

Concern crossed Tien's face. "You guys okay?"

"Oh, yeah, we're fine," Gohan yawned. He looked up at Tien, "Like I said, it's nothing big."

Tien nodded. "Whatever you say, bud. Don't worry about it now. Besides, you should be thinking about how to get revenge on Seventeen, anyway."

Gohan laughed. "Oh, I'll come up with something."

* * *

"I love that movie," Lindsey sighed dreamily.

"Soooo good," Jenny answered.

"Oh! That reminds me, I brought something else!" Leelee cried and ran to her bag. She pulled out a board game and plopped it in the middle of the coffee table.

"An Ouija board?!" Jenny shrieked, scooting backwards from the table. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I thought it would be fun!" Leelee grinned, opening the box and removing the lettered board and planchette.

Eighteen sat up straighter, intrigued. "What's this?"

"An Ouija board," Lindsey answered, looking warily at the thing sitting on her coffee table. "Haven't you ever seen one before?"

Eighteen shook her head. "What do we do with it?"

"We talk to the dead," Leelee said in a spooky voice.

"Aren't these things supposed to be dangerous?" Lindsey asked nervously.

"I bought it at a toy store, how dangerous could it be?" Leelee asked.

"Well," Lindsey hesitated, still eyeing the board. It was really tempting. She didn't know whether to believe that it would really work or that it was actually something dark and evil or if it really was just a silly party game.

"Weird," Eighteen said, leaning closer to the board. "Does it really work?"

"We're about to find out," Leelee said, placing the planchette on the board and lightly setting her fingertips on it.

"I'll just watch from over here."

The girls turned to see Jenny sitting in the corner, hugging her album of boudoir pictures to her chest.

Leelee rolled her eyes and turned back to the board. "Come on."

Eighteen and Lindsey glanced at each other, Eighteen looking skeptical and Lindsey nervous, and they set their fingers on the planchette like Leelee.

"Don't push it," she instructed them. "Just let it move on its own."

Eighteen looked puzzled as she stared at it. She didn't understand how it could move on its own. There were no mechanical parts, no batteries or power supply that would provide a way for it to move on its own.

In a soft, solemn voice Leelee asked, "Is there anyone here with us?"

The quiet in the room was deafening. They all stared at the board expectantly. The planchette remained firmly still.

"See? It's broken. Put it away," Jenny said.

Lindsey was just about to agree with her when she felt the planchette start to slide. Her eyes went wide as it slid across the board until the clear center hovered over the word "Yes."

"The fuck," Lindsey breathed. "Leelee, you pushed it!"

Leelee's eyes were quite as wide as Lindsey's. "No, I didn't! Lindsey, I promise you I didn't!"

Lindsey turned an accusatory stare at Eighteen, but the android shook her head.

"Okay," Lindsey said, flexing her fingers and setting them back on the planchette. "What is your name?"

The planchette quivered slightly and began to slide, pausing over letters as it went.

"J-O-N-A-H," Eighteen spoke each letter as the planchette moved.

Lindsey flung her hands from it and scooted back against the couch. "That's not fucking funny, you guys."

Leelee's eyes were wider than ever. "I didn't do it!"

"Jonah," Eighteen screwed up her face. "I know that name." She looked up at Leelee. "Why do I know that name?"

"He's one of the guys that attacked Lindsey," Jenny said from her spot in the corner. She looked very cross. "That's not funny, Leelee. And besides, he isn't even dead."

Lindsey looked up at Jenny, a tear sliding from her eye.

"Wait," Jenny breathed. "He's not, is he? Lindsey?"

Lindsey pressed her lips together and continued to stare at Jenny. She and Gohan had never spoke a word about it to anyone, although they suspected that Goku knew.

Jenny gasped.

Lindsey suddenly sat up straight, wiped her eyes quickly and looked at Eighteen and Leelee. "Do either of you know my mother's name?"

They shook their heads.

"Ask it what my mother's name was," Lindsey ordered and placed her hands firmly in her lap. "We'll see if this thing is full of shit or not."

Leelee was just opening her mouth to answer the question when the planchette moved again. Eighteen read the letters aloud, just as she had before. "E-L-I-Z-A-B-E-T-H."

"Fuck you!" Lindsey spat at the board. "FUCK YOU!"

"Is- Is that right?" Leelee stammered, looking over her shoulder at Jenny. "Elizabeth?" Jenny had drawn her knees up and nodded her head.

"Holy shit," Eighteen whispered, withdrawing her hands from the board.

"Get out of my house," Lindsey growled, looking around the dimly lit room. "You get the fuck out now."

"I told you this was a bad idea," Jenny squeaked, looking around nervously.

The planchette began to move again and Eighteen quickly touched her fingers to it. "F-U-C-K-Y-O-U."

"Put it away, Leelee," Lindsey instructed.

"Wait," Leelee said, scrambling in the box and pulling out a sheet of paper. "The instructions say to always say goodbye to a spirit, or it won't leave."

"Just do it," Lindsey said.

Leelee placed her fingers upon it once more. "I order you to leave this house. Goodbye." She expected the planchette to move across the letters at the bottom of the board that said "Goodbye" but instead, the planchette moved to the word in the upper corner. "NO."

"You bastard," Lindsey snarled.

A huge bang from the kitchen caused the girls to scream as they jumped and turned towards the sound. It sounded like someone had slammed a cabinet door with all their strength.

"Fuck this, I'm outta here!" Jenny screamed, jumping to her feet and scrambling with the doorknob.

"Wait! Don't you want your ice cream?" Leelee asked.

"KEEP IT!" Jenny shouted as she flung herself through the door and slammed it behind her.

"That bitch," Lindsey hissed, staring in surprise at the door.

"I can't sense anybody's energy," Eighteen said. She'd risen to her feet in a defensive stance. "Come on. Maybe it's just Seventeen fucking with us."

"I'll kill him if he's in there banging around," Leelee said, getting up from the floor.

Cautiously, the three women made their way across the living room, Lindsey clicking the lights on as they went. The kitchen was perfectly empty.

"What the fuck," Leelee breathed.

Lindsey started slapping at Leelee. "Damn you for bringing this shit in my house!"

Eighteen wanted to laugh. "I think we're letting our imaginations get away with us."

"Then explain how it knew my mom's name!" Lindsey exclaimed, pointing back into the living room.

"Maybe Leelee or I heard it at one point and we just don't remember," Eighteen answered.

Leelee cocked an eyebrow at her. "You not remember something? Seventeen can tell me what he ate for breakfast on November second, three years ago. Don't act like it's possible for either of you to forget something with those computer brains of yours."

Eighteen frowned. "Maybe not, but it's possible yours did."

"So you're accusing me of doing that on purpose?" Leelee cried. "I wouldn't do that to her!"

"Not consciously," Eighteen countered. "But your subconscious can do all sorts of weird things. Even make you move it without you realizing what you're doing."

Leelee drew a long breath through her nose and was getting ready to snap at Eighteen when a thundering on the stairs caused them to whip around and look back through the living room.

"What the fuck? What the fuck?" Lindsey asked in a shaking voice.

"It's my brother," Eighteen said confidently. She stepped past Lindsey and Leelee, who followed her as close as her own shadow. "Seventeen!" Eighteen shouted up the stairs. "Knock it off! This isn't funny!" She stormed over to the stairs and began to tromp up them, but Leelee grabbed the back of her shirt.

"Don't! You don't know that it's Seventeen up there!"

Eighteen rolled her eyes and sighed. "If it was anyone else, we could sense their energy. Seventeen is the only one without a power level. There's no one else it could be. And this is just the sort of thing that he would think is funny."

"I am not going up there," Lindsey whispered.

"Stay here," Eighteen ordered them and tiptoed up the stairs. She got to the top and clicked the lights on.

Leelee and Lindsey watched anxiously as Eighteen rounded the corner of the wall, heading towards Lindsey's bedroom. They held their breaths, listening carefully when Eighteen let out an ear-splitting scream and came running back down the stairs as an upstairs door slammed.

"What happened? What'd you see?" they asked hurriedly.

"Get rid of that thing," Eighteen growled.

"What was it?" Lindsey demanded, but Eighteen shook her head and kept her mouth closed.

Leelee crossed the living room and packed the Ouija board and planchette back into its box. She held it in her shaking hands. "The fuck do they sell these in a toy store for?"

It would've been funny if they hadn't been so freaked out.

"How do we get rid of this thing?" Eighteen asked. "I'm not leaving Lindsey alone in this house with a pissed off spirit." She'd never really believed in ghosts before, but now Eighteen had no choice in the matter. She'd seen the apparition of the young man grinning at her from the doorway. And as far as she was concerned, seeing was believing.

"I saw a spell," Lindsey breathed.

"Huh?" Eighteen asked.

"In my book, I saw a spell to bless a house and rid it of spirits," Lindsey said quickly, hurrying across the room to grab the paperback that sat on the side table. She thumbed quickly through it and stopped on a page. "Here. Right here."

Eighteen and Leelee hurried to her side, Leelee still clutching the box in her hands.

"Put that outside," Lindsey ordered.

Leelee quickly ran to the front door and tossed the box outside.

"Oh no," Lindsey whined as she scanned the list of necessary supplies for the spell. "I don't have all this stuff."

"What do we do now?" Leelee asked as another bang issued from upstairs.

"Grandma," Lindsey said. "I'll call my grandma." She ran to the kitchen and dug in her purse, retrieving her cell phone. "Pick up, pick up, pick up," she begged softly as the phone rang.

"Salt," said the old woman's voice.

"Huh? Grandma?" Lindsey asked.

"Salt," she repeated simply. "Scatter sea-salt in every door way and say 'I banish thee' three times. Start in the upstairs and work your way to the front door. It'll get rid of that ghost."

"How did you know?" Lindsey asked, astonished.

"You're surprised?" her grandmother countered.

"No," Lindsey answered. Her grandmother often knew things before they happened, even if she didn't warn you. But grandma always fixed you with a knowing eye, as though she knew it was coming, even if she didn't warn you. "Thanks, gramma."

"Oh, and Lindsey dear," the old woman said, "tell your friend to burn that board. And none of you should be dabbling in things you don't yet understand."

"Yes, Ma'am," Lindsey drawled and hung up the phone. She looked up at Eighteen and Leelee. "We need sea-salt."

"Where the fuck do we get sea-salt?" Leelee cried as though she was quickly losing hope of getting rid of the ghost.

"In my pantry," Lindsey deadpanned.

"Oh!" Leelee blinked. "You have that?"

"Do I have… Is this a ques… the HELL kind of a cook do you take me for?!" Lindsey stammered angrily. "Of course I have sea-salt!"

"I SET POPTARTS ON FIRE! I DON'T KNOW THIS SHIT!"

"What do we do with the sea-salt?" Eighteen asked, holding the canister she'd grabbed from the pantry in her hand.

"Come with me," Lindsey said, suddenly feeling braver after the brief conversation with her grandmother. She led them upstairs and took the sea-salt from Eighteen. She poured a generous amount into her left palm, then opened the door and pinched the salt with the fingers of her right hand. She sprinkled it in the door way, speaking loudly, "I banish thee, I banish thee, I banish thee."

Eighteen and Leelee followed suit, sprinkling salt in every door way, including the closets, and with every room they completed, the energy seemed to lighten.

"Now the downstairs, working our way towards the front door," Lindsey said. She sprinkled salt on the stairs as they went, just for good measure.

"Oh, I don't like this," Leelee said nervously. The downstairs had gone ice cold. So cold, in fact, that they could see their breath in the air.

"I think we made it mad," Eighteen whispered. A shattering of glass in the dining room made them all jump. Eighteen squared her shoulders. "Let's finish this."

They hurried to scatter the salt in the rooms, the bathroom, the kitchen, the dining room, "Oh, I liked that picture frame," Lindsey said sadly at the smashed glass on the dining room floor, finally making it to the living room, which was still icy cold and seemed very dark, despite the fact that the lights were on. Eighteen yanked open the door and Lindsey threw a heaping handful of salt on the threshold. "I banish thee! I banish thee! I banish thee!"

There was a whooshing sound and Lindsey was knocked backward to the floor by an unseen force and the front door slammed shut. The brightness returned to the living room and the air was warm again.

"Lindsey, are you okay?" Leelee asked, kneeling next to her friend.

Lindsey sat up and laughed, holding her stomach.

"She's lost her mind," Eighteen said with wide eyes.

"Oh man," Lindsey said, trying to catch her breath. "I don't know why I'm laughing. Phew." She sobered herself as best as she could, and said, "We're supposed to burn that board, Leelee."

"Not a problem," Leelee agreed, standing and pulling Lindsey to her feet. "I can't believe you think this was funny."

"I don't," Lindsey answered, still trying to stop her giggling. "I've gone slap-happy."

"She needs fresh air," Eighteen said, leading them through the house and out onto the back porch. She took Lindsey by the shoulders and sat her firmly on one of the bench seats. "Leelee, go get that damn board."

Leelee hurried off the porch and disappeared into the darkness.

Eighteen picked up the lighter that was sitting next to the barbeque grill and lit the charcoal inside. As soon as Leelee returned with the board, Eighteen snatched it from her and flung it on the grill. The cardboard smoked and curled as the flames lapped at it.

Lindsey wasn't laughing anymore. She had drawn her knees up to her chest and was dragging deeply on a cigarette, staring blankly at the yard.

"You okay?" Eighteen asked, sitting next to her.

"Yeah," Lindsey said, ashing her cigarette and taking another drag. "Just freaked out, is all."

Leelee sat on the opposite side. "Lindsey, I'm so sorry. I just thought it would be a joke, you know? Something to just spook us a little. I didn't think the damn thing would actually summon the dead."

Lindsey shrugged. "It's not your fault, Leelee. But we don't need to be messing with anything that we don't fully understand."

Leelee nodded and leaned against Lindsey. They knew the house was safe again, but none of them were eager to go back inside, so they sat together on the porch until the sun crept over the horizon. Only then did they go back inside and crawl under the blankets and cushions on the living room floor and fall swiftly to sleep, curled up close enough to make sure that they were within arms' reach of each other.

* * *

Author's Note: Do not ever play with an Ouija board. EVER. Bad juju. Very, very bad juju.


	3. Jenny's Bad Day

A small group of refugees sat near their smoldering campfire, which barely held a few glowing coals. The early morning sky was tinged with pinks and orange, and a young-looking man with spiky blue hair was entertaining his companions with a story.

"You – you should've seen their faces!" he gasped, hugging his ribs as he laughed. "One girl ran out of the house!"

The two young women with him cackled loudly. "Loki, you didn't!"

He nodded, his face going red.

Hybris, a young lady with extremely long, pale pink hair and vivid purple eyes leaned closer to him. "How did you get in the house?"

"I sent a spirit to them when they opened a doorway," he snickered, wiping tears from his cheeks. He gasped for air, trying to contain his laughter. "The idiots actually brought a spirit board into their home."

"You should have gone yourself," Hybris said.

Loki drew a deep breath, calming himself. "It's against orders. You know that."

Hybris shrugged.

"Is the spirit still there?" Nyx asked as she tied her hair up in two messy buns.

"No, they banished it," Loki answered, prodding his pet turtle with his toe. "Simple magick, really, but effective."

"Can you get back in the house?" Nyx asked. "Or send another spirit?"

"Maybe," Loki answered. "The doorway's been destroyed, but if their protective enchantments aren't reinforced, I could possibly get the spirit to return."

"What spirit was it?" Hybris asked, her eyes still dancing with amusement.

Loki shrugged. "Some human spirit of a young man. He was recently deceased. Seemed rather eager to go, as a matter of fact."

Nyx furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Perhaps we aren't the only ones with a vendetta against them."

"This was personal, from what I could understand," Loki said. "You know how hard it is to communicate with human souls. They're daft in life; they certainly don't get any better in death. You'd think it would open them up to the universe, make them see how insignificant their measly lives on Earth are, but…" he shook his head, "Some of them are just too preoccupied with the lives they lived. They get attached to their earthly homes, especially the ones whose lives end unexpectedly."

"Still," Hybris giggled, "I would have loved to see it."

Loki sighed contentedly. "It was fabulous."

* * *

"Morning, Gohan," Tien said sleepily as he climbed out of his tent. He stretched his arms over his head; his back was stiff from sleeping on the ground.

"Mornin'," Gohan answered. He'd been the first of their group to wake up and had stoked the fire and was frying bacon in a skillet over the firepit. "Coffee?" Gohan offered.

"Sure," Tien answered, taking the steaming cup and sipping from it. He watched as Gohan flipped the bacon, glancing up at the tents every minute or so. "You expecting something?"

Gohan smirked and continued to turn the bacon with a fork. He hadn't spent much time cooking, certainly not over an open fire, but he figured bacon was pretty straight-forward. He was happy Lindsey had been thoughtful enough to pack some in his cooler.

Tien sat heavily in one of the lawn chairs and drank deeply from his coffee cup. Goku soon joined them, happy that the bacon and coffee was already prepared.

"Man, I'm glad you brought this stuff," Goku said, biting into a piece of bacon.

"You can thank Lindsey," Gohan said, sitting back in his chair. "She packed it."

"Sounds like Seventeen's waking up," Tien said.

Gohan spun in his seat to stare at the android's tent. He lifted his coffee cup to his lips, hiding his smile.

The tent started rustling, then violently shaking as Seventeen shouted in anger. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

Gohan was trying very hard not to laugh or look guilty, but Tien and Goku fixed him with amused, accusatory stares.

"What did you do?" Goku asked.

"Got him back for the shaving cream," Gohan snickered into his coffee.

After several minutes of yelling and nearly tearing his tent down (in which time he'd woken Yamcha and Krillin) Seventeen finally crawled out of the tent, covered head to toe in shaving cream and tangled in twine. He tried to stand, but the twine was wrapped around his knees and he fell flat in the dirt.

"Who did this?" Seventeen snarled as he ripped at the twine angrily, kicking his feet wildly. He paused to look at the group that was staring at him in surprise and amusement. "GOHAAAAN!"

"That's what you get," Gohan said matter-of-factly and turned back towards the fire, sipping his coffee and smiling to himself.

* * *

Jenny lay in the darkened room on the reclined chair, the ultrasound technician by her side.

"Feels like we were just here, doesn't it?" Jenny asked, looking over at Piccolo who sat in the corner.

He gave her a small smile. "Yeah, this is familiar."

"Okay," the woman working the large machine said, placing the instrument on Jenny's stomach. "Let's see." She brought up the image on the monitor. She rolled it around Jenny's still flat stomach, trying to find the new baby. She pressed harder against Jenny's stomach and Jenny winced slightly.

Piccolo saw Jenny's expression and started to rise from his seat, but the next second the technician said, "Got it."

Piccolo stared up at the monitor, a thrill of excitement flaring up in his chest. He wasn't expecting that reaction. He'd been with Jenny at her first appointment for Paige, but there was an excitement this time that he hadn't felt with Paige. Back then, he'd been a nervous wreck. He had no idea what to expect or how to handle being a father. But he'd been through this once before and now there was no fear or worry. Just the prospect of a new little person to fall in love with again.

"Baby looks healthy," the technician said.

Piccolo tore his eyes from the image on the screen to smile at Jenny, but frowned when he saw her eyes closed. "Jenny?"

Her eyes snapped open and she looked around, bewildered for a moment. "Huh? Oh, sorry," she blushed. "I dozed off for a second."

Piccolo frowned more. "What time did you say you came in last night?"

"Ummm, two-thirty…ish?"

Piccolo sighed. "You weren't supposed to be out that late."

"I had a good reason," she answered and winked at him.

He gave her a skeptical look and turned back to the screen on the wall.

The technician finished taking measurements and printed off a few of the pictures for them and sent them down the hall to see Jenny's doctor. They sat in the waiting room and Jenny laid her head back on the chair and promptly fell asleep again. Piccolo elbowed her in the side.

Her head snapped up again. "Sorry!"

He sighed in exasperation.

"I'm just so tired," she whined.

"And who do you have to blame for that?"

She huffed. "Me."

The nurse called them back to an exam room a short while later. Piccolo was getting frustrated with Jenny at that point as she had fallen asleep two more times in the waiting room.

"You know," he said as the nurse shut the door to the room, leaving them to wait for the doctor, "maybe you should be a little more responsible with the way you spend your time."

Jenny blinked up at him. "What?"

"You're a mother and a wife, now, Jenny," Piccolo stated. "Maybe it's time you started acting like one."

Jenny's breath caught in her throat. "I have spent every waking minute with you and Paige, unless I was training with Vegeta! I took one evening to hang out with my friends. I'm sorry I lost track of time! Jesus."

"You're different from them now," Piccolo countered. "They don't have children."

"Eighteen does," Jenny snipped, crossing her arms and looking away from him. "I don't see Krillin breaking it off in her ass. And she spent the night there!"

"Only because he's afraid of her," Piccolo muttered.

"That's not the point," Jenny said. "What, I have to completely give up who I am because I'm a mom now? I think I've been a damn good mother so far!"

Piccolo sighed. "You ARE a good mother. But you can't be spending the night away from the Lookout or staying up so late. We have training to do and Paige needs us. I can't believe you want to spend time away from her."

Jenny was really hurt at that. She loved her daughter more than anything in the world. She didn't think spending a few hours with her friends was out of line. She blinked harshly and pressed her lips together, never looking back at Piccolo. "See if I give you your surprise now."

He glared at her for a moment, wondering what she was talking about, then turned away from her, crossing his own arms and staring at the opposite wall. They sat in icy silence for quite awhile until the doctor finally arrived and they had to pretend like they liked each other for moment.

* * *

Jenny tromped through Capsule Corp, banging doors and ignoring Mrs. Briefs as she called out, "Hello dear!" in her cheery voice.

"Hey, Jenn," Trunks greeted her as she passed him in the hallway.

"Go to hell," she muttered under her breath.

He turned and watched her go as she passed Catie, shoving Catie to the side and storming into the gravity room.

"What's her problem?" Catie asked.

Trunks shook his head. "No idea."

Catie scrunched up her nose. "I bet she went out last night."

Trunks snickered. "She's gonna pay for it today if she did."

Catie eyed Trunks for a minute. She was really trying to get along with him better and to get over his temporary lapse of judgment. "C'mon," she said, prodding his shin with her toe. "Let's go for a swim."

He blinked at her. "Sure!" he smiled, throwing his arm around her shoulders and leading the way outside to the pool.

Jenny slung her bag from her shoulders and threw it against the gravity room wall. She huffed and pulled the hair tie from her wrist, angrily throwing her hair up in a ponytail. Vegeta stood in the middle of the room, watching her with mild curiosity as she stomped across the room and viciously jabbed a few buttons, activating the increased gravity. She turned harshly on her heel. "Are we doing this or not?"

"You can lose the attitude," Vegeta growled.

Jenny pressed her lips tightly together and charged Vegeta, bringing her arm up like she was going to punch him, but at the last second spun and hit the back of his knee with her foot, dropping him to one knee. Vegeta retaliated by grabbing her leg and slinging her across the floor.

She slid to a stop and jumped back up, attacking again.

If he were to be honest with himself, Vegeta was rather taken aback by Jenny's newfound viciousness. There was something there he hadn't seen before. Drive? Determination? He couldn't quite place it, but she was throwing herself into this training session with a passion he hadn't seen in her before. It was so unexpected that she was almost getting the best of him. And he didn't appreciate that.

"So you think you're tough now, huh?" he taunted. "Let's see how you handle this." Vegeta's hair flashed to gold and his eyes turned sea-foam green.

Jenny blinked at him in surprise. He'd never gone super-Saiyan on her in training before. She set her face determinedly and attacked again. It didn't matter now what she was up against. Piccolo didn't think she was being a good mother? What the hell did he think she was doing in these training sessions, learning to crochet? She was pushing herself to be a better warrior, to be able to protect him, Paige, and the new life growing inside her.

She growled as she lashed out at Vegeta, her normally brown eyes turning a deep blue. Vegeta saw it and quickly threw her a hard punch to her jaw, knocking her to the floor again.

She landed hard on her back and stared up at him, breathing hard. He lowered his feet to the floor, smirking at her. God, she hated it when he did that. She got back to her feet, and held her arms over her head, forcing her energy up her arms to gather between her hands. It coiled, snakelike, growing longer and wider as Vegeta watched cautiously. This was something new.

Jenny didn't know where it came from. She was so upset with Piccolo and so determined to never fear losing her child again, that it boiled over into the gathering energy she held. She suddenly brought her hands down to her chest, then threw them outwards directly at Vegeta, her hair turning to blue waves at the same instant as she screamed, "HYDRA WAVE!"

A dragon-shaped blast issued from her hands, made of streaming water and crackling energy, so fast and powerful Vegeta froze for a split second. He dove out of the way and managed to dodge the blast as he gaped at her in shock. The water-infused dragon hit the control panel Vegeta had been standing in front of, causing the lights to dim and the circuitry to sizzle and pop. The gravity returned to normal as Jenny stared at the panel in horror.

Vegeta got to his feet as the last few sparks spouted from the control panel. "What… have I told you… about water blasts… in this room?!" he bellowed, his voice growing louder with every word.

Jenny cowered at his outburst. "I didn't mean to!"

"Goddamn it, will you morons ever learn?!" Vegeta was shaking with rage as he shouted at her. "First Catie loses total focus on her surroundings and manages to kill one of our own, and now you're going to start disregarding the rules and blowing up our training space?"

Tears were brimming in Jenny's eyes. She'd done lots of things to irritate and annoy Vegeta, but she'd never seen him this angry with her before.

"I… I'm sorry," she stammered weakly, daring to glance at him again.

"SORRY ISN'T GOING TO FIX THAT!" he roared, pointing at the twisted, wet metal.

Jenny was really struggling to keep herself from crying at that point. She felt like she could crawl in a hole and die. Her stomach twisted up in knots and she felt like she could vomit. Or was that morning sickness kicking in? Oh, GOD no. She retched and clapped a hand over her mouth, breathing hard through her nose, and managed to not throw up. She didn't think Vegeta would hesitate to kill her in that moment if she puked all over the ruined gravity room.

"Don't you dare," Vegeta snarled. "Get out of here. I'm done with you today."

Still holding her hand over her mouth, she skirted the edge of the room and punched the code into the keypad next to the door. The door didn't move.

"I SAID GET OUT!" Vegeta shouted.

"I'm trying!" she shot back. She punched the code again. And again. "It won't open."

"Oh, what are you… Get out of the way," he said, storming across the room and shoving her harshly away from the keypad. He tried it himself, but the door didn't respond. "Oh for crying out loud!"

Jenny sunk miserably to the floor. She'd not only managed to destroy the gravity room, but now she was trapped inside it. With Vegeta. A very irate Vegeta.

He pounded on the door, but it didn't budge.

"Can you blast us out?" she asked meekly.

He shot her a filthy look. "And listen to that woman bitch about it?" He crossed his arms and huffed. "No. I think I'll just wait until she gets a hold of you for blowing it up."

Jenny's stomach clenched tighter. She hadn't even thought about what Bulma would say. She didn't have long to wait, either.

"VEGETA!" Bulma's voice rang from the other side of the door. "What in the world is going on in there?" She banged her fist on the door. "You better open up right now!"

"I can't! The door's stuck," he called back.

"What do you mean?" she shouted through the door. "Did you forget the passcode again?"

"NO, I DID NOT!"

"Then what the hell happened?!"

Vegeta smirked at Jenny. "I'll let you tell her."

Terror crossed Jenny's face and she shook her head violently side-to-side. "No! Please! Please don't make me tell Bulma!"

But when Vegeta simply continued to smirk haughtily at her and Bulma's shouting got angrier, Jenny realized she had no choice. She got shakily to her feet and walked to the door. "Bulma, I… I accidentally messed up the control panel!" she called through the door.

"Messed it up?" she asked. "Oh, I can probably fix it."

Jenny cast a nervous glance over her shoulder at the panel which gave a feeble pop of sparks. "Errr… I kind'a… sort'a… maybe… blew it up."

"BLEW IT UP?" Bulma shrieked.

Jenny cringed and added, "With water."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Bulma, I'm so sorry!" Jenny pleaded, leaning against the door. "I didn't mean to!"

"YOUNG LADY, YOU ARE LUCKY YOU ARE TRAPPED IN THERE RIGHT NOW! THERE ISN'T A SINGLE PERSON ON EARTH WHO WILL PROTECT YOU FROM ME WHEN I GET THROUGH THIS DOOR!"

Biting her lips, Jenny returned to her spot on the floor and pulled her bag into her lap, breathing heavily again. She could feel it coming, there was no stopping it. She ripped her bag open and retched again, burying her face in her bag.

"Disgusting," Vegeta growled and turned away from her.

Jenny wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and pushed the bag away.

They could hear Bulma's voice fading away as she shouted angrily, heading for her lab to grab some tools to open the door. She returned a short time later and set to work on the outside panel, trying to override the automatic locking mechanism that prevented the door from being opened while the increased gravity was activated. They could hear her muttering to herself, occasionally shouting things like, "YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE WHEN I GET THIS DOOR OPEN!" or "YOU'RE DEAD! YOU HEAR ME? DEAD!"

After listening to it for about half an hour, Vegeta finally sighed and sunk to the floor, his arms crossed and muttered, "Next thing she's going to do is make that door soundproof."

Jenny couldn't help but smile. She was exhausted and embarrassed, but more than anything, she was disappointed in herself. Now what was she to do? Who knew how long it would take Bulma to fix the gravity room and Jenny hadn't really done any training anywhere else. She supposed she and Vegeta could still train, if she could get him to agree to it.

"What in the world got into you?" he asked suddenly.

She looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

"I've never seen you fight so passionately," he answered. "Something changed in you today."

Jenny considered his words. "I had an argument with Piccolo. He made it sound like I'm a bad mom."

Vegeta raised his eyebrows. He couldn't see Piccolo accusing Jenny of something like that. "Are you sure that's what he said?" he asked skeptically.

"Not in so many words," she answered.

"You women are all alike," Vegeta growled. "You read so much more into every little thing."

Jenny shrugged, unsure of what to say.

"So you think he accused you of being a bad mother and you decided to take it out on my gravity room."

"No," Jenny answered. "I was trying to push myself. I want to be ready for anything. Now I have TWO children who are going to depend on me. I can't afford to be killed in battle or have them kidnapped again."

Vegeta was impressed. Her aggression hadn't come from anger, but from a drive to improve herself. He couldn't fault her for that. In fact, he was rather proud of her, even if he wouldn't voice it aloud.

"I just…" Jenny paused to shiver. "Seeing Paige's crib turned over like that will haunt me for the rest of my life. What if they come for her again? What if they try to steal the new baby when it gets here? I can't handle it, Vegeta. I can't."

"You let your emotions cloud your judgment," he stated.

"I'm a woman," she answered. "A pregnant woman with hormones completely out of whack and a husband who thinks I'm worthless."

Vegeta fixed her with a bored stare. "Spare me the sob story. Even if that were true, it's no excuse. Letting your emotions take control in battle can be costly. Fatal, even. You saw what happened when Catie didn't control herself. And she could have easily been the one to get killed, too. She and Gohan's woman nearly destroyed one another."

"I just can't go through it again," Jenny said sadly. She chewed the inside of her lip for a moment, debating whether or not to ask the question that was burning in her mind. She'd already pissed him off good, what could one more question hurt? "Isn't that why you do it?" she asked.

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I mean, don't you feel the same way? Pushing yourself, training constantly, it's all for them, isn't it?" she asked.

"What are you babbling about?"

"Bulma and Trunks!" Jenny answered. "Well, both Trunkses… Trunkses… I sound like Gollum."

"You've lost your mind."

"You know what I mean!" She took a deep breath. "That's why it's so important to you, right? You have to protect your wife and children. You know where I'm coming from, Vegeta. You know that fear. You understand me because you feel it too!"

He turned up his nose as if he was disgusted with her.

"Don't you?" she asked desperately, sounding incredibly vulnerable. For just one moment, she wanted to feel like someone understood where she was coming from. Not for sympathy, but just so she would know that she wasn't alone and that she wasn't risking so much for nothing. She knew the gamble she was making by training so hard. But she refused to sit by on the sidelines while everyone else prepared.

Vegeta leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling, considering her words. She watched him expectantly. He lowered his gaze to look at her. "I…"

"Got it," Bulma beamed as the door slid open.

"About time, woman," Vegeta said as he got to his feet and Jenny seemed to deflate. Damn Bulma's timing. Vegeta strode past Bulma and called over his shoulder, "And fix the door! It's far too easy to hear your nagging through it!"

Jenny pushed herself to her feet, picking up her soiled bag and preparing to follow Vegeta when she found herself face-to-face with a furious Bulma.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Bulma screeched, her hands on her hips. "Do you know how much work I'm going to have to put in to fix this?!"

Jenny sighed, "No. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you're gonna be sorry," Bulma snapped. "Sorry when I take this wrench to your backside!" She held up the wrench threateningly.

"I'm sorry, Bulma," Jenny said weakly as she watched Vegeta march down the hall and disappear around the corner, never giving her a second glance.


	4. Tough Lover

Jenny's words stuck with Vegeta for the rest of the day. Why had it been so important to her to ask him those questions? To be perfectly honest, Vegeta had never given a lot of thought as to why he fought, other than to simply become the best, to surpass Kakarot, to become the ultimate Saiyan warrior. For years, those had been his only thoughts, his only desire.

He growled to himself as he wandered the hallways of Capsule Corp, not paying any attention to where his feet were leading him. Jenny had stirred up something in his brain that continued to nag at him, despite the fact he kept trying to will it away. Was there really more reason to his continuous struggle for more power? All his life he'd been focused on becoming a warrior. Strength, speed, technique, anticipating your enemy's next move – all these things made sense and were second nature to him now. He had never imagined himself with a wife and children, yet here he was, on Earth, with those very things. And he cared about them much more than he wanted to admit.

Vegeta had never understood Kakarot. How was it that he could be so carefree and gentle with his loved ones, yet be the fiercest warrior on a battlefield? It didn't seem possible to Vegeta that such opposing personalities could be contained within one person. He was always rough with everyone. Perhaps he feared going soft or making himself vulnerable. The Fate Verdandi's words came to him now.

_"You are doing well, building a new life for yourself. But not everything that has been done here today can be undone. You must remain strong to keep that which you have worked so hard to attain."_

What had she meant by "But not everything that has been done here today could be undone." Something more had happened, he was sure of it, but he had thus far been unable to figure it out.

Building a new life. Was that what he had been subconsciously doing? He didn't even realize it. While he'd been focused on training, life just sort of happened. One day he found himself married, with a son. He'd never really played with Trunks, only taught him to fight, bringing him up the way his own father had raised him. He didn't understand this family dynamic. It was strange, almost foreign to him. Yet he found himself becoming very fond of his wife and child. And then Jenny showed up. He couldn't stand her or her antics when she'd first come to live at Capsule Corp as a foreign exchange student. And then future Trunks arrived, adding to the mess. Then Catie. He thought Jenny's shenanigans were bad, but Catie… Catie was an entirely different mess altogether, and the two of them teamed up was unimaginable. And then suddenly, they were gone. Taken in a pathetic attempt at world domination by a fool who had no idea what she was dealing with.

He'd worried over them that day. He'd grown so used to their presence, their pranks and silliness that the house felt empty without them. He fought to save them without ever questioning the why. Who were they but mere humans to the Prince of Saiyans? Ah, bullshit. They were more to him than that and he knew it. If he was going to start lying to himself, he ought to think of a better one than that. He'd come to care for them as his own. He'd seen the potential locked inside them when they were incased in those glass boxes as though they were to be put on some sort of sick display. And he had determined then and there to bring it out, to shape it and direct it so that they would never fall prey to another enemy again. So he taught them, pushing them to be stronger, faster, harder. Always pushing them to take it one step further. And he smiled inside every time they progressed. And his own sons were right there along with them. All of his children, whether biological or adopted, were capable fighters now.

And then the attack on Kakarot's girl happened. Vegeta shuddered. He'd been bewildered by it. How had she lost her powers in a moment of panic to two average humans? He'd feared the same for Jenny and Catie, that they may one day be staring evil in the face and somehow forget what they'd learned. It shook him to his core. Again, he questioned Kakarot's character in letting the human justice system handle it. If it had been Jenny or Catie, Vegeta would have ripped those young men apart with his bare hands and laughed as he did it. So he resumed training with the girls, pushing them harder than he ever had before, even though Jenny had been pregnant. He hadn't given much consideration to the child, in all honesty. He'd assured her that everything would be fine, that because it was Piccolo's child, it would survive. He'd had no way of knowing that. But he was far too preoccupied with assuring their success in battle that he threw caution to the wind and trained her anyway. What sort of damage could he have caused if he'd been wrong? He didn't want to think about it. He was slightly concerned now, but Paige was fine, so surely this child would be, too.

Paige. He still didn't know what to make of her. A beautiful child with pale green skin and big, shining eyes. Bulma was certainly fond of her. He wondered what she would become. She was important to Sigourney's plans. She was the first of her kind – half human, half Namek. With another child of the same lineage on the way, he couldn't help but worry if that would make Jenny even more of a target. Perhaps she knew this herself and that's why she was working so hard. Still, she didn't have to destroy the gravity room in the process.

And now Bulma was going to have to repair it. It was going to take her days to fix the damage Jenny had done. He'd been rather amused to listen to Bulma screaming at Jenny in that moment, but now he almost felt sorry for her. He knew his wife too well. She'd be up all night long, downing cups of coffee to keep herself awake to finish the task at hand. He admired that in her. She was relentless when she was working on a project, working herself to near exhaustion as if her hands couldn't keep up with the ideas in her brain. A smile pulled at his lips as he thought about it. Anything he'd ever asked of her, she'd worked out a way to design it, build it, perfect it to his specifications, even if he himself wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for. She never ceased to amaze him. His smile faded to a frown as he realized he'd never voiced this to her. He wondered if that bothered her. Perhaps allowing himself to embrace this life, this family, wouldn't make him soft like he'd always thought it would. Maybe they were the secret to becoming a greater fighter. If he was fighting for something beyond his own selfishness, his own desires, it would awaken something inside him. He'd seen that in Kakarot before. And now the same was true with Jenny. They fought for their loved ones, not for their own desire to become stronger. It wouldn't weaken him physically to open himself up just a bit, to let them in, would it?

Vegeta huffed. That wasn't his fear. What concerned him was if it would cloud his judgment on the battlefield. If he became too attached, could he bear the trauma of losing one of them? He thought he already knew the answer to that. He'd felt it rip at his insides as Jenny lay in the hospital room after having Paige, the doctors working frantically to save her. He'd felt it before when he watched Cell kill Trunks in their battle. He'd flown off the handle then, attacking Cell in a blinded rage, foolishly wasting his energy and efforts in a hopeless attack. He didn't want to risk that again.

But Bulma's image swam in the forefront of his mind again. There was more than one way to lose someone you cared about. Would Bulma eventually grow tired of his lack of affection? She was the only woman in the universe who would put up with him and he knew it. He couldn't help but snicker as he thought, "I'm the only one who will put up with her, though, too." And then he tried to think of his life without her. He couldn't do it. He couldn't imagine where he would be in life if it hadn't been for her. And he didn't know what he would do if he ever lost her.

He'd been in that place before. He'd watched as everything he knew had been destroyed. His father, most of his race, his entire planet – all gone. Ripped away from him and there was nothing he could do about it. No, he wouldn't let that happen again. Verdandi was right – he'd worked too hard to carve out his place on this planet and he'd be damned if he was going to sit idly by and watch it fall to pieces.

He opened the door to Bulma's lab and found her exactly where he knew she would be. She was hunched over her desk, muttering angrily to herself as she fiddled with wires on the ruined control panel. She was so consumed with her work that she didn't even notice his entrance.

"Bulma."

She jumped at the sound of her name and spun in her seat. "Oh, it's you. You startled me." Slight confusion crossed her features as she stared up at her husband. He was watching her with a soft expression on his face, the tiniest hint of a smile on his lips. "You okay, hon?"

He continued to stare at her, warring with himself. It was so awkward to him. He'd never been affectionate before. Normally when he was with her, he was aggressive, thinking only of his own needs. Not tonight.

Vegeta gently took Bulma's chin in his hand, leaning closer to her. Her blue eyes went wide at his soft touch. "You know I care about you, don't you?" The words felt funny in his mouth, his stomach curled at the vulnerable sound of his own voice. This wasn't going to be easy for him. But he felt it had to be done. He wanted to do it. Now the only question left was how. He knew the why now. He fought for her. So that at the end of the day, she was safe and so she would be proud of him.

She blinked in surprise. "Well, yeah, of course I do. You don't have to say it."

A relief washed over him. At least she didn't demand to hear it all the time. Perhaps he wasn't doing as bad as he thought. His hand slipped from her chin to her arm to pull her to her feet.

"Vegeta, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Something I should have done a long time ago," he answered and covered her mouth with his own.

Bulma felt her knees shake. His kiss was slow and soft as he slid his hands around her waist, pulling her body against his. He'd never kissed her like this before. She wrenched her fingers in his black hair, crushing her lips against his and threw her leg over his hip.

He broke away from her suddenly and pushed her leg back to the floor. "No."

She blinked in surprise again. "What? I don't understand."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her again, gently probing her mouth with his tongue, struggling to keep his aggressive nature in check. He didn't want to be with her like that tonight. His hands slid from her face, down her neck and over her chest as she sighed against the kiss. He slowly unbuttoned her blouse, fighting the urge to rip it from her. She pulled it from her shoulders and unsnapped her bra, letting both articles of clothing fall to the floor. Vegeta ran his hands up Bulma's stomach to her chest, gently cupping her breasts and teasing them lightly with his thumbs. He loved the way her breasts fit his hands so perfectly, as though she was built for him alone.

Bulma loosened Vegeta's belt and hooked the pockets of his pants with her fingers, tugging them down. Vegeta shivered as the cool air of the lab washed over his bare skin. He felt Bulma's fingers wrap around his hardening length and a fresh wave of goosebumps erupted over his body as she stroked him, twisting her wrist, making him harder. He ran his hand up her thigh, pulling her skirt up and was surprised to find she wasn't wearing panties. She'd done that on purpose. She'd strutted around most of the morning, trying to distract him from his training, wearing that skirt that drove him wild and made him want to take her right then and there. She must've forgotten to put them back on in her frustration with the control panel.

He broke the kiss as he pulled her body against his and looked deep into her eyes. He grabbed the back of her thigh, lifting her leg, and hooked the crook of his elbow under her knee. He held her gaze as he slowly pressed himself into her, his jaw dropping slightly at the warm feel of her body enveloping him.

Bulma threw her head back, closing her eyes and hissed, "Yessss."

Vegeta grabbed the back of her head and pulled her face towards him. "Look at me," he commanded in a quiet voice. She locked her big eyes on his once again as he began to thrust into her, his left arm still holding up her leg, his right hand pressed into the small of her back to steady her. His own breath was catching in his throat as he drank in the sensation of her – she was so tight and wet on him, making him ache for release already. He pulled her tighter against him, driving deeper into her with a steady rhythm.

"Oh, Vegeta," she whispered, blinking her eyes slowly as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She didn't understand this tenderness, this deliberately slow pleasuring of her body that he offered. Her heart swelled within her chest. He _could_ be affectionate, he _did_ love her, and this was the best way he knew to express it. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she stared into his intense eyes.

He leaned his forehead against hers, both of them breathing heavily as their bodies met again and again. He felt her body contract around him, her breathing became more shallow, and she squeezed her eyes shut again.

"Look at me," he repeated in a strained voice, locking eyes with her once more as he felt himself starting to climax. He never increased his pace as her muscles clenched down on his hard shaft, her body trembling against his, as sheer bliss shattered their senses. He could see the excitement and relief in her eyes as she gave in to the pleasure; he wanted to roar in ecstasy as he came deep inside her.

His right hand traveled to the back of her left thigh, lifting her from the ground without separating their bodies, and he kissed her passionately again.

"Oh wow," Bulma breathed as she broke the kiss and laid her head on his shoulder.

Vegeta was shaking as he held her, not from exhaustion or the weight of her in his arms, but because he'd never had such an intimate moment in his life. Something about staring her in the eyes like that, about making sure she was satisfied, shook him to the core. She was his woman, his princess, and she loved him deeply. He realized how much she needed this and how long she must have wanted it. He was proud of himself. He'd opened up to her and expressed himself without turning into a mush. A small smile pulled at his lips as he continued to hold her, her wet warmth still slightly clutching at him. He lowered her from his arms to let her feet rest back on the floor again before he slowly withdrew from her body.

She fixed her skirt and put her top back on, slicking her hair out of her eyes as she did so.

He was fastening his belt when she turned to him again. "Vegeta," she said in a soft voice, "I…"

He pressed his lips to hers again once more. "I know. Me too."

She smiled and he turned to leave the lab, giving her the space she needed to get back to work.


	5. It Hurts so Much to Hurt You

Trunks tilted his head back, letting the hot water run through his long hair, rinsing the chlorine and chocolate sauce away. He was running the day's events through his mind, frowning to himself.

Trunks had spent a wonderful day with Catie. After their morning training sessions with Vegeta, Catie had unexpectedly invited him to go swimming with her. Excited at the idea of her warming up to him again, Trunks enthusiastically accepted. They spent most of the day floating on air mattresses side-by-side, trailing their arms and legs lazily in the water, talking about everything under the sun. Well, everything except _that_.

Catie discussed at length with Trunks about those split-seconds before the accident with Gohan.

"I was so mad at him," she'd said, twirling circles in the water with her fingers. "When I saw him punch her like that, I went nuts."

He'd nodded. "I couldn't believe it either. Scared me, to be honest," he admitted. "Cause then I realized just how much control she had over us at that point. Gohan would never hit Lindsey like that."

"Never," Catie agreed. "I knew it wasn't him, but I couldn't stop myself. I just... I lost control. When I saw him fall and felt that vine snap in my hand..." her voice trailed off.

"Ah, it's okay," Trunks assured her. "He's not mad at you."

"Lindsey still is."

"Then that's on her. If she wants to be stupid about it, let her. There's nothing you can do to change her mind."

Catie sighed. "I don't blame her, really. I know where she's coming from – what if the Fates hadn't intervened? She'd be a widow right now. Can you imagine that at her age? I feel like shit."

"You just can't make the same mistake again," Trunks said, then cringed internally. Who was he to be giving advice about making mistakes? His worst mistake was still unknown to everyone except Goku. And Goku only knew because Trunks had blurted it out in a moment of panic. He mentally kicked himself now for even telling Goku about it. Goku was a great man, but he could be a bit absentminded at times. What if he let something slip? On the other hand, he did manage to keep Trunks' secret about being from the future for three years. He relaxed a little.

"So you really knew everything that was going on around you?" Catie asked.

"Everything I could see and hear," he said, his throat going painfully dry. "I couldn't turn my head to look at anything in particular, but it wasn't hard to tell what was going on."

"That must've been maddening to be stuck in your own head like that," she said, looking up at the sky. "But Goku managed to break through it a little, didn't he?"

"That's what they said," Trunks nodded. He crossed his arms behind his head and stared up at the bright afternoon sky. He and Catie stayed that way for a long time, both lost in their own thoughts, gently bobbing in the cool water.

Catie had been the one to break the silence. "You know what sounds fantastic right now?"

"What?" he asked, looking over at her.

"An ice cream sundae," she smiled.

"Race ya," he grinned, pushing himself to a sitting position on the air mattress.

Catie shot him a mischievous grin and kicked the bottom of his raft, flipping him into the water as she dove sideways, swimming for the edge of the pool and racing into the house. He'd caught up to her a few moments later, grabbing her around the waist and tickling her as she screamed in glee and snatched a bottle of chocolate syrup from the counter. A battle of chocolate sauce and spray whipped cream had ensued, and both of them ended up sticky and laughing on the floor. They sat in the middle of the kitchen on the cold tile, covered head-to-toe in toppings and ate their ice cream, laughing at each other. He'd reached for her, wanting to kiss her, but she thwapped him on the nose with her spoon and told him, "Not while I'm eating ice cream." He couldn't blame her. He was pushing too soon and he decided to just spend the rest of the day playfully flirting with her, trying to win her back.

He'd had so much fun today. But now his stomach was clenching in knots. He was going crazy with worry that Catie was going to find out what he'd done in that castle. But the guilt of keeping a secret from her for so long was killing him, too, just as Goku had warned. Trunks closed his eyes and turned his face towards the shower head, but even as he did so, he heard a woman's voice say, "Trunks."

His eyes snapped open and he partially yanked the shower curtain back to peer around the bathroom. It was empty. "Catie?" he asked loudly, thinking perhaps someone was on the other side of the door. "Mom?" There was no answer. He slowly closed the curtain, shaking his head and thinking to himself that he was imagining things. He stepped back into the streaming hot water again, but jumped when he heard the voice again.

"Oh, yes, Trunks, yes!"

Despite the steam from the shower, Trunks shivered. He wasn't hearing voices. He was remembering those moments in bed with Mohini. He tried to clear his mind, to force his body not to react to the memory of that gorgeous woman as she clawed at his back, wrapping her impossibly long legs around his waist, writhing beneath him as he had his way with her… He shivered again in disgust as his body reacted exactly the way he didn't want it to.

"Cold water," he muttered to himself, adjusting the tap. "Coooold water."

The sudden change in temperature chilled him to the bone but he forced himself to stand under it until he regained his composure. He sighed in relief and turned the handles again to warm the water back up just enough so he could finish washing. He scrubbed at his scalp, washing away the last of the chocolate sauce and turned off the shower, stepping out onto the rug, and grabbed his towel. Tying it around his waist, he opened the door to his empty bedroom. Dripping on the carpet, he dug in his drawer until he found his favorite pair of pajama pants and a white wife-beater top, then dropped them on his bed to dry off. He pulled his clothes on, combed his long hair, and was just getting ready to crawl into his bed when a sudden thought struck him. He'd had such a good day with Catie, maybe there was a chance she would let him stay in her room tonight. He debated for a few moments, then swallowed his nervousness and headed for Catie's room.

Catie was putting away folded laundry when a knock on the door drew her attention. "It's open," she said.

The door creaked open and Trunks stood there, his hair still damp. "Hey."

"Hey," she smiled and finished tucking the last of her socks into a drawer. "What's up?"

"Just coming to say I had a lot of fun with you today," he answered truthfully.

"Me too," she said. "It was nice."

"I was thinking," he said, somewhat nervously, "that, you know, maybe our day doesn't have to end?'

She cocked an eyebrow curiously. "I'm not sure I know what you mean." She picked up the empty laundry basket and turned away from him, crossing the room to stick it in the closet. She thought she knew what he meant, but if he thought getting her back was going to be that easy, he had another thing coming.

"I thought, maybe, I could spend the night? You know, in here… with you?"

She snapped the closet door shut and spun around to look at him. He looked nervous as he tucked his chin to his chest and stuck his hands in his pockets, waiting for her answer.

"I don't think I'm in the mood," she replied coolly.

He looked up at her quickly and blinked his eyes. "I didn't mean like that! I just wanted to sleep next to you. That's all."

"Just sleep?" she asked skeptically.

"Just sleep," he said sincerely. "I just miss laying next to you."

She debated for a moment as she chewed the inside corner of her mouth. "Oh, all right," she answered finally and Trunks' heart leapt. "But you try anything, anything at ALL, and I will kick your ass outta here so hard, it'll make your Saiyan ancestors butthurt about it."

He snickered at her and agreed to her terms. Catie clicked off the lights and he pulled the blankets back to let her get into bed first, scooting to the side of the bed that was pressed up against the wall, then he climbed in after her and settled back into the pillows that smelled like her shampoo. He rolled to his side to face her, even though she had her back to him. Just seeing the outline of her silhouette next to him calmed him. The moonlight streamed through the window and fell across her face and hair; Trunks couldn't help but think that she was the most beautiful girl he'd even seen. He scooted closer to her, reaching over to trail his fingers through her long hair.

"What are you doing?" came a muffled question from her pillow. Without even opening her eyes, Catie could sense the presence of his hand dangerously close to her own face.

"I just wanted to hold you for a minute."

"Go to sleep, Trunks," Catie muttered.

'Don't push it, Trunks,' he thought to himself and turned away from her, lying on his side and flopping his head harshly into the pillow. He stared at the wall for a long time, listening to her breathing lightly before he was finally able to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Vegeta walked down the hall, heading for his bedroom, when a sudden thought struck him. He paused and cracked open the door to Trunks' room but was surprised to find the room empty. Confusion crossed his features as he closed the door again. Trunks' energy was nearby and Vegeta realized it was coming from Catie's room, which was the next door; only a thin wall of sheetrock separated Catie's room from Trunks'. Judging by the feel of their energy, both of them were asleep. The door was still partially open and Vegeta's suspicions were confirmed as he saw Trunks sleeping on his side, Catie's smaller figure nearly hidden behind him.

"It's about damn time," Vegeta muttered softly to himself and continued on his way down the hall towards his own bed.

* * *

Trunks was in ecstasy. The alluring spell of the seductress was coursing through his veins, removing all reason from his mind. There was nothing but that beautiful woman, beckoning him to her. She was passion and desire, a succubus in a tangible form. He was kissing her, ravishing her mouth with his own, his hands running over her curves, plunging himself deeper into her body, growling with a fervent need for her. Then suddenly she faded and Catie was there, crying and screaming at him that she hated him. His stomach twisted in knots; he hated himself for hurting her.

Trunks bolted upright in bed, breathing hard, his whole body shaking. A dream. Another goddamned dream about that woman. A quick glance at the clock on the bedside table showed it was slightly past one in the morning. He sighed and ran a trembling hand through his loose hair.

"Have a nice dream?"

The sound of Catie's voice made Trunks jump.

She was laying on her side, staring at him, and even in the darkness he could see the blazing anger in her eyes. His mouth went dry.

"S-Sorry," he stammered. "I didn't mean to wake you." He hesitated for a moment. "Was I talking in my sleep?" Nervousness was building in his stomach again.

"Oh, Mohini! Oh, yes, yes, YES!" Catie mimicked.

"Oh fuck," Trunks breathed in horror.

"Fuck is exactly right," Catie snapped, sitting up suddenly. "You came to sleep in my bed and dream about her?!"

"Catie, I'm sorry," Trunks said. His mind was racing. There was no denying it to her; she'd already heard whatever he had moaned in his sleep. His hands went clammy as he waited for her reaction.

Catie's lips were pressed together in a firm line. "I don't even know what to think about you right now. Here I thought we were working things out, and now I find out you're still thinking about her, dreaming about her… What was your plan tonight, Trunks? To fuck me while you fantasized about being with her?"

"NO!" he cried. "I wouldn't do that!"

She crossed her arms. "Mm-hmm."

"Catie, please," he begged. "I'm so sorry."

"Obviously she's still on your mind if you're having sex dreams about her."

Guilt and fear were rushing through his system. He couldn't keep this up any more. There was a weight that was pressing on his shoulders – he could actually feel it. He couldn't stand it anymore. He blurted the words out before he even knew what he was saying. "Catie, it wasn't a dream, it was a memory!"

Catie froze, blinking her eyes as if she didn't hear him right. "Wh-what?" she stammered.

"It was a memory," he said softly. He'd never been so terrified in his life. He couldn't believe he'd said it.

"You slept with her?" Catie whispered, her voice trembling. Shock ripped through her system like she'd grabbed a live wire. It had hurt bad enough when she saw him kiss that woman, but now that she knew he'd cheated on her, Catie felt like her heart had just been ripped from her chest.

"I was under her spell," Trunks began in a pleading voice, but Catie didn't want to hear it.

"Don't give me that shit," she said softly, turning slightly away and staring at her hands in her lap. She shook her head as tears filled her eyes.

"Catie, I didn't mean to do it. It wasn't me – she put that spell on me! I couldn't stop myself!" he begged. "Please, forgive me. Catie, I love you."

"Bullshit," she spat, staring at him out of the corner of her eye. "You could have stopped yourself if you wanted to. Were you even thinking of me at all?!"

"I…"

"Don't answer that," she growled. She didn't want to know the answer.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Trunks waiting to see if she would continue to speak to him, Catie trying to compose herself enough to not kill him.

"I do love you," he said softly.

She slicked her hair behind her ears and pressed her fists to her lips, allowing her tears to stream freely down her face as she stared at the closet door. This was it. This was the final straw. She could feel anger and hatred and betrayal building up inside her, screaming to be let out.

"We're done," she said in a dead tone.

Ice filled Trunks' chest. "What?" he whispered.

"It's over," she said, still staring at the closet door.

"No," he breathed. "No! Catie, please! Don't do this!"

"ME?!" she screeched turning on him. "I AM NOT THE ONE WHO DID THIS! YOU ARE!"

Tears were clouding Trunks' vision as Catie kicked the blankets away and crawled off the end of the bed, stomping across the room to flick the lights on. He blinked at the harsh light and the tears rolled down his cheeks. "Catie," he pleaded, kicking his own blankets away and getting out of bed. "Catie, please. Please!"

He grabbed her hand, but she wrenched it away like he'd scalded her. "Don't. You. Touch. Me."

She threw open her closet and retrieved a huge suitcase.

"What are you doing?" he sobbed. He couldn't help it. His whole world was falling apart before his very eyes.

"I'm going home," she snapped, slamming the suitcase on the bed.

"No," he said and grabbed the suitcase to return it to the closet.

Catie grabbed the other end. "Let go!"

"NO!" he shouted. "You are not leaving! We're going to work this out!"

"No we're not!" she screamed back. "I can't even look at you right now! I never want to see you again! WE. ARE. THROUGH!" Tears were pouring from her eyes. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and puke and throw things at him. She'd never been so hurt and angry before.

"Catie," he continued to beg. "I'm so sorry! It will never happen again! I couldn't control myself! Please, believe me!"

Catie fixed him with a fierce stare and whispered, "How could you do this to me?"

As if he wasn't hurting enough as it was, her words shattered the remaining fragments of his heart. He couldn't answer her. He had never intended to hurt her. Ever since the day he met her, all he wanted to do for the rest of his life was to make her happy. He'd failed her miserably. His lips trembled as he clenched his jaw.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" she demanded, her voice cracking as she screamed. "HOW COULD YOU?!"

"I'M SORRY!" he bellowed. He was gasping for air as sobbed racked his chest. "Catie, you will never know how sorry I am!"

"Damn right I won't," she growled, trying to yank the suitcase out of his grasp again.

"CATIE, STOP!" he yelled, tightening his grip. He tried to brush away the tears with his shoulder.

"WHAT IS ALL THIS RACKET?!" Vegeta snarled as he threw the door open with a bang.

They turned to him, both of them with tears running down their faces, the nearly-ripped suitcase in both their grasps.

"She's trying to leave!" Trunks said desperately. "Father, talk some sense into her! I beg you!"

Vegeta turned to Catie. "Leave?" he asked.

She released her hold on the suitcase, making Trunks stumble backwards a few steps. She pointed an accusatory finger at Trunks. "He cheated on me!"

Vegeta couldn't believe Catie's words. Trunks was too loyal of a person; he would never betray anyone, especially not Catie.

"I said I was sorry!"

Vegeta's head whipped towards Trunks in shock.

"Sorry doesn't fix it!" Catie shouted back. "You should've thought about that when you were fucking Mohini!"

Realization slammed into Vegeta's thoughts at that moment. _"Not everything that has been done here today can be undone." _ He now understood what Verdandi had meant. What she'd said about keeping his family, the life he'd built – she wasn't talking about him losing Bulma. In retrospect, he should've known what she was talking about.

"Father, please," Trunks begged. "Don't let her leave!"

Vegeta drew a long breath through his nose, his mind working feverishly, trying to figure out what to do. "Where will you go, Catherine?"

"Home," she answered.

"Unacceptable," Vegeta said in a calm, yet stern voice. "You have training to do with me. You know there's a war coming and you're needed to ensure our victory."

"I AM NOT STAYING UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS HIM!" Catie screamed.

"I'll go," Trunks said softly, returning Catie's suitcase to the closet. "You stay here."

"Don't tell me what to do," she snarled. "You're not my boyfriend anymore."

'Just twist the knife, why don't ya?' he thought as he closed the closet door.

"Where will you stay?" Vegeta asked Trunks.

"I'll figure something out," Trunks said, taking a shaky breath.

"Don't go far," Vegeta ordered. "You're still expected to train in the morning."

Trunks pressed his quavering lips together and nodded. He glanced once more at Catie and said softly, "I'm sorry."

"Fuck you," she hissed and turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.

He choked back another sob and miserably left her room.

Vegeta turned to leave when Catie asked, "How could he do this to me?"

Vegeta paused for a moment, tempted to answer her. But then he thought better of it and simply left the room as she buried her face in her hands and collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

* * *

"So where are you planning on going?" Vegeta asked, leaning in the doorframe of Trunks' room.

Trunks was packing his belongings into his own overly large suitcase. He wiped his nose on the back of his wrist and shook his head. "I dunno. I'll find someone to stay with."

"It's going to be all right, son," Vegeta said.

"Not this time, father," Trunks answered miserably as he continued to pack his suitcase, carefully avoiding his father's gaze. He was going numb, like his entire chest was just hollow, but he feared he may break down in tears again if he looked at his father and saw any trace of disgust or embarrassment there.

"Just give her space," Vegeta said. "Take a day or two off from training if you need it. The GR is broken right now anyway."

Trunks nodded and hastily wiped his nose on his arm again. He emptied his dresser and closet, packing away everything he thought he could need, and grabbed his toothbrush and other personal items from the bathroom and stashed them into the suitcase as well. He glanced around his room, double checking that he hadn't forgotten anything. His eyes fell on a framed picture sitting on his desk. He picked it up and stared at it, his heart burning and shattering again. He loved that snapshot of Catie. It was a black and white close up of her with her hair down, her head tilted to the side, her eyes dancing as she smiled. He carefully tucked it into the suitcase, then zipped it shut.

"Let your mother know where you are when you get there. She worries about you," Vegeta said.

"Yep," Trunks said, still avoiding his father's eyes as he left the room, carrying the suitcase with him. He could hear Catie sobbing in her room when he walked by. He stopped and leaned his forehead against the door, his hand resting on the doorknob. "I'm sorry," he whispered, a tear rolling down his nose. "I'm so sorry."

He made his way downstairs and through the house out into the yard. He started racking his brain, trying to decide where to go. His first thought was a hotel room, but he had never really liked places like that. They always seemed so cold and empty to him. Plus the last time he had stayed in one had been on prom night with Catie and he thought that might be too painful to bear. Android Seventeen and Leelee had an apartment in West City, but it was small and he didn't much fancy sleeping on a couch, either. Not to mention listening to them going at it all night long. He wondered if they ever slept.

There was always Gohan's old room at Goku's house. But Goku and Chichi went to bed early and it was well after two in the morning now. He didn't want to wake them. Gohan's house was big, though, and Trunks remembered Lindsey had invited Sabriena to stay in the guest room. Surely they wouldn't mind if he crashed with them for a few days. Besides, everyone knew Lindsey was a night owl, so there was a good chance she was still awake even if Gohan wasn't.

Pulling his cell phone from his bag, he swiped the screen until he found Gohan's number and clicked it. It went straight to voicemail. "Dammit, Gohan, don't you ever charge your phone?" he growled, sniffling again. He swiped his phone again, clicking Lindsey's number and raised it to his ear. "Please pick up," he muttered as it rang in his ear. "Please pick up."

"What are you doing up so late?" came Lindsey's cheery voice.

"Hey, Lins. Is Gohan there?" Trunks asked.

"No, sorry, he's still on that camping trip," she answered.

Damn. He'd completely forgotten about the trip. Gohan wouldn't be home until late on Sunday and it was only Friday night.

"Did you need something?" she asked.

"I tried to call his cell…"

"Oh, he left it here," she said. "I turned it off. I didn't think anyone would be calling him."

"Okay," Trunks sighed, preparing to hang up. "Sorry to bother you."

"What's wrong, Trunks? You sound sad."

He drew a deep, shaking breath and said, "Catie and I broke up."

There was a gasp from Lindsey's end of the line. "Oh no. Oh, Trunks, I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

"It's… awkward being in the same house right now. But I don't want her to go back to the states, so I left. I was gonna ask Gohan if I could use your all's guest room, but…"

"Absolutely," she interrupted. "You're always welcome here, Trunks. You know that."

He shook his head, even though she couldn't see him. "I don't wanna do that to you since Gohan's not there."

"Nonsense," she said firmly. "Gohan would want you to come here. He'll be home in a couple days. It's fine. You come on over."

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly. "I don't want it to be weird since Gohan's gone."

"You're fine," she insisted. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

Trunks sighed. "Thanks, Lins. I owe you one." He tapped the screen of his phone and stashed it back in his bag, then with one last glance at Catie's window, he hauled his suitcase off the ground and rose into the air, heading for Mount Pazou.


	6. Broken

Trunks landed in the yard in front of Gohan's house a short time later. Lindsey was sitting on the porch swing with the overhead light on, a book in her lap. He walked up the steps and set his suitcase by the front door.

"Hey," she said softly and set the book down on the swing next to her. She eyed him in a concerned sort of way, trying to gauge his mood.

"Hey," he answered. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants and leaned against the side of the house. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was slightly tangled from flying.

She frowned sympathetically at him. "You okay?"

He shook his head as tears threatened to fall again.

Lindsey lowered her feet to the porch floor and stood, walking closer to him. "I'm sorry, honey."

A huge knot was forming in Trunks' throat and all he could do was nod.

"C'mere," she said softly and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, hugging him.

He didn't move for a second, but then something in him just seemed to crumble and the next thing he knew, he was hugging her back, bawling into the side of her neck.

Lindsey closed her eyes as she held her friend, wishing she could do something to calm him, to take away the pain he felt for just a moment. She wanted to ask what had happened, what on earth could have caused them to end their relationship. Catie and Trunks had had squabbles before, especially when everyone had been living at the Lookout looking for Paige, but nothing like this. This was real. This wasn't an argument where you were making up a few minutes later after angry words had been shouted. Something big had happened, but she couldn't fathom what it could be.

Trunks squeezed her tightly, unable to control his emotions any more. He hadn't expected this. He'd wanted to come to their home, sit in the living room with Gohan and drown his sorrows in beer, or perhaps something a bit stronger. Instead, he was on the porch, hugging his best friend's wife and crying on her shoulder. But if there was anyone who could understand the guilt of being a fuck-up, it was Lindsey. Maybe that's why he was able to cry so freely right now. He was with someone who'd been on that side of the mistake.

After several more minutes Trunks was gasping for air and hiccupping, so Lindsey led him over to the porch swing and sat him down firmly before disappearing into the house. She returned a short while later with two red coffee cups and handed one to him.

"Th-Thanks," he said, accepting the cup from her and taking a sip.

She sat down next to him and brought her feet up in the swing. She watched him carefully over the rim of her cup, waiting to see if he wanted to talk about it, or if he would just prefer to sit and drink his coffee. Sometimes when people are hurting, they just want to be left alone. So she drank her coffee silently, the only sounds to be heard were the crickets in the grass and the occasional frog somewhere off in the distance. It was a warm night, almost too warm for coffee, but there wasn't anything else to drink that would sooth a heart the way that dark liquid would.

"I'm sorry," he said a few minutes later.

"For what?"

"Coming here. I didn't mean to put you in a weird spot."

She smiled kindly. "Trunks, you're not imposing. I'm not doing anything important, anyway. Gohan would be furious if he found out you didn't come here."

"I really do owe you one."

She waved a dismissive hand. "Please. After all the shit I put everyone through last year? No one owes me shit."

"How do you deal with it?"

She blinked questioningly at him. "What do you mean?"

"The guilt. You know, of keeping something from Gohan? How did you handle it?"

"Gohan's a very forgiving person," Lindsey answered carefully. "I just… I dunno. I guess it just gets easier to deal with as time goes on." She sipped her coffee again, watching him. "Did you do something?"

He nodded and his shoulders shook again.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He shrugged, trying to blink away the tears that were welling up in his eyes again.

"You don't have to. I understand," she said. "But if you do want to talk, I'll listen. I won't judge you."

He was very tempted to tell her the truth. But he was so ashamed of what he'd done. He didn't want her to think of him like that.

"I'm guessing whatever it was, Catie found out about it?"

"I told her."

Lindsey tipped her chin up in acknowledgement. She chewed her lip for a moment, waiting to see if he would continue. A pang of guilt jolted through her for wanting to know more. She mentally scolded herself for being such a gossip.

Trunks bowed his head as a new wave of sobs racked his body. "Lindsey, I'm such a fuck-up," he cried.

"No, you're not, Trunks," she said, setting her cup on the porch floor. She turned sideways in the swing to face him and reached over to rub his back. "You're a great guy. Everyone likes you."

He scrubbed at his eyes with the heel of one hand, but the tears continued to fall. "I'm n-not a g-good person."

Concerned crossed her face at those words. No one said that about themselves unless they'd done something serious. Trunks had hurt Catie somehow and Lindsey wasn't sure what to think. He was sober, so he couldn't have done something really stupid, but a wariness grew in her chest and she retracted her hand from his back. She should've known she was safe with Trunks, but her past dealings with men told her they could be unpredictable. She suddenly wished that Gohan was home.

She gathered her wits and steeled her nerve, preparing to power up if the need called for it. A stern expression crossed her face and she spoke in a serious tone. "Trunks, you cannot say things like that to me and not explain yourself."

Trunks' throat felt tight as he answered her, "I ch-cheated on Catie."

Relief and horror crashed through her simultaneously. She looked away from him, rolling her eyes and mentally smacking herself for thinking he'd done something aggressive to Catie. But then the reality of what he said sunk in and she turned to him again.

"What on earth were you thinking?" she hissed.

He sobbed harder, shaking his head. "I wasn't."

Lindsey was at a loss for words. "But… I don't… With who?"

Trunks sucked air through his nose and choked, "Mohini."

"Mohini?" she asked, confused. "Wait, the woman from Sigourney's castle?!"

He nodded.

"But… But when?"

"Right after I kissed her," he answered, composing himself again and wiping his nose on his shoulder. "One minute I was with you all and the next thing I knew, I was in a bedroom with her."

Lindsey sat in stunned silence as he spoke.

"I was under her spell, I couldn't control myself. Catie never once even crossed my mind. I was so out of it, Lindsey," he looked at her, his eyes pleading for her to understand. "I didn't know what I was doing. I was there… And she… It just happened. I never, ever meant to do something like this! You believe me, don't you?"

There was a desperation in his eyes as he looked at her and she nodded her head. "I believe you."

A rush of air escaped from Trunks' throat and he cried again.

Lindsey felt like she could cry for him and exhaled a long, slow breath. "I'm sorry, Trunks."

He shrugged and shook his head, returning his eyes to stare at the coffee cup in his hands.

"She shouldn't be mad at you," Lindsey said suddenly. "You weren't in control of yourself. You were under a spell. Hell, we all were!"

He shook his head slightly again.

"Trunks," she said firmly and he looked at her as she locked her eyes on him. "I would have fucked her. And I don't even swing that way."

Trunks choked out a small laugh. "Really?"

"In a heartbeat," Lindsey answered sincerely. "That spell was powerful. Every single one of us would have done it. I even said so after you disappeared and the spell wore off."

"No you didn't," he accused with slight amusement in his voice.

"I told Jenny I would have gone lesbian for that woman."

He drew a long breath and looked out at the yard for a moment. Maybe Lindsey was right. Maybe he shouldn't be so upset with himself. "So you don't blame me for what happened?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. Not for one minute. Not for a second!"

He swallowed. "You sure?"

"Trunks, sometimes things happen to us that are beyond our control. We can't be held accountable for the situations that happen to us. All we can do is decide how to handle it and how to learn from it."

A small smile pulled at his lips as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "When the hell did you get so wise?"

She leaned over and retrieved her coffee from the floor. "I've always been wise," she answered haughtily. "You fuckers just don't pay attention is all."

They laughed together for a moment and continued to drink their coffee as Trunks started to rock the swing with his toes.

"Your hair is getting really long," she commented, reaching over to touch it. "It's longer than Jenny's."

It was true. His lavender hair was level with the bottom of his ribcage now. He shrugged. "Catie likes it long." A sad expression crossed his face again as he thought of her and new tears burned his eyes.

Lindsey frowned sadly again. "She's not going to buy it, is she? She still thinks you had a choice in the matter."

He nodded, squeezing his eyes shut again. "I don't buy it either."

"Now what did we just talk about?" she scolded.

"Yeah, but I also know what Goku said to you," he countered. "Goku was under Sigourney's spell and he was able to fight it enough to talk to you."

She blinked at him. She didn't know Gohan had told Trunks about that.

"Yeah, but, that's Goku," she said.

"And Sigourney's spell was a lot stronger than Mohini's," Trunks added, fighting tears. "I… I think I could have fought it if I wanted. I just… didn't."

Lindsey squeezed her eyes shut. This wasn't going to be an easy fix, if they could fix it at all. Unless he could forgive himself, he couldn't ask Catie to forgive him. That was something Goku had taught her when she was recovering from her drug addiction. Gohan forgave her much easier than she was able to forgive herself. It had taken her weeks to come to terms with what she had done, the pain she had inflicted on others. She had to accept the responsibility of the part she played in all that mess. She'd tried to blame it on others – the men who'd hurt her, on Kolya for making the weed so easily available, on Kip and Tumbler for sharing the cocaine with her, even on Gohan for not noticing what she was doing to herself. But in the end, she had to realize that it was her choices that had put her in the situation she was in. And then she had to accept it. And then she had to forgive herself, which was by far the hardest part of all. Trunks was going to have to do the same thing, and there was no way that was happening tonight.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go inside." She got up and tugged on his hand, pulling him to his feet. She grabbed his suitcase for him and led him into the cool air conditioning of the house and up the stairs to the guest bedroom.

He looked around at the room with its big, squashy bed that was made with crisp white sheets and a thick, gold and white comforter. She set the suitcase on the floor at the end of the bed, then started turning the sheets back for him. "If you get too hot, you can always take this comforter off," she said, adjusting the pillows. "I like it really cold when I sleep, though, so that's why I put this big-ass thing on here. Sabriena gets cold easily." She turned to him. "I changed the sheets after she left, so they're fresh for you."

"Thanks," he muttered. He felt dead inside and thought that he'd very much like to go to sleep and not wake up for a month. Yet at the same time, he wasn't sure if he would be able to sleep at all, he was feeling so miserable and lonely without Catie.

Lindsey touched his face, bringing his eyes to look at her. "Try to get some rest. We'll deal with it in the morning, okay?"

He nodded and she left the room, clicking the door shut quietly behind her. He sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off his shoes. He reached for the bedside lamp and clicked it off, then rolled into the bed and pulled the heavy comforter over his shoulders. The bed was even softer than it had appeared and it seemed to swallow him up as he sunk into the mattress, the comforting weight of the blankets over him. He hugged a pillow to his chest, burying his face in it, and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Back at Capsule Corp, however, no one was sleeping. Catie had cried and cried until it felt like her eyes were going to burn out of her skull. Bulma had ceased working on the gravity room's control panel to see what all the fuss was about and had to blink away angry tears as Catie explained the whole thing to her.

"I can't believe he would do something like that," Bulma muttered again, angrily slamming the refrigerator door shut. She looked in shock down at her hand, which was covered in a sticky, brown goo. "What the hell is this?!"

Catie looked up, saw the chocolate sauce on Bulma's fingers, and crumpled over the kitchen island in sobs again.

Bulma looked bewildered and washed her hands quickly in the sink. "I thought I raised him better than that. Or, well, my future self had raised him better."

"'S not your fault, Bulma," Catie sniffled. Her voice sounded thick, like she had an extremely bad headcold.

Vegeta was sitting at the kitchen table, his arms crossed and listening to Catie as she'd retold the story to Bulma. "It's not his fault either, Catherine."

Catie wanted to shoot him a filthy look, to tell him to shut his mouth, but all she could muster was a very pitiful look that seemed to say 'I don't wanna hear it.'

"You would have done the exact same thing," Vegeta reminded her. "Any of us would have and you know it."

Catie shook her head, wincing as a migraine seemed to erupt in her brain. "No, I wouldn't."

Vegeta gave her a skeptical look.

"Everyone could have resisted those spells if we'd tried hard enough," Catie croaked. "Goku did."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow in question as Catie explained about Goku being able to speak.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Leave it to Kakarot to set another impossible standard that the rest can't live up to. You're a fool if you think you have the same will power as he does."

Catie pressed her lips together and turned her back to him again, fighting more tears. She was never going to live up to Vegeta's expectations. That wasn't the way he'd meant it, but that was what she'd heard. Women do that. They can hear the exact words a man says, but get a completely different message out of it. A man can ask, "You're eating a cookie?" because he didn't realize there were treats in the pantry, and his girlfriend will hear, "Oh my god, I can't believe you're eating again. You're such a fat cow." And the next thing he knows, he's begging forgiveness from the person crying and screaming at him and he doesn't even know what he did wrong.

"Don't be so mean to her!" Bulma snapped at her husband. "She's hurting right now, she doesn't need you calling her names!"

Vegeta blinked at her. "I didn't."

"Yes you did," she argued, pulling open a cabinet on the wall and grabbing a small bottle of pills. She dumped a couple in her hand, then returned the bottle and slammed the cabinet door shut. "She's not a fool, Vegeta. She's hurt and with damn good reason. I'm so upset with Trunks right now!"

Vegeta shook his head. Women were so infuriating to deal with.

Catie rested her head on her forearms and cried again.

"Here," Bulma said, grabbing Catie by the wrist and slapping the pills into her hand. She shoved a glass of water across the granite countertop.

Without question, Catie swallowed the pills and gulped the entire glass of water down. She drew a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I want my mom," she whimpered, laying her head back down.

Bulma was hurt at that. "You have me," she said in a soft tone.

Catie wanted to kick herself. She looked up and said, "I know, Bulma. I'm sorry."

Bulma walked around the island to her and gave her a big squeeze. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."

Catie shook her head and hugged Bulma tightly. "It's never going to be okay again."

"Sure it will," Bulma answered. "You're just so close to it right now, you can't see the forest for the trees." She leaned back and pushed some of Catie's hair out of her face. "You just need some rest. Go on back to bed, now."

Catie sniffled and nodded, got to her feet and left the kitchen.

"What do we do?" Vegeta asked.

Bulma still had her back to him and watched Catie leave. "I don't know what to do. They have to work this out for themselves."

"I don't need this right now," Vegeta grumbled. "I have training to do. You done with that control panel yet?"

She sighed. All of that affection and tenderness earlier, and now he was right back to the same old Vegeta.


	7. Grandpa Goku?

Trunks spent the next two days in bed, trying to sleep and ignore the entire world. He hadn't even bothered to open his suitcase, much less unpack it or change his clothes. He just lay in bed, going through the waves of emotion that washed over him. Loneliness. Anger. Numbness. Guilt. Fear. Hopelessness. Sadness. Repeat.

His eyelids felt like sandpaper every time he blinked. He wanted to close them and try to sleep, but it physically hurt to close his eyes, so he stared blankly at the drawn curtains over the window until exhaustion would take over and he'd doze off to sleep for a few hours, only to wake up and realize he was still alone and miserable.

Lindsey was fussing over him terribly. She kept trying to get him to eat something, which he turned down as politely as he could. She had never seen a Saiyan turn down food and it worried her. Goku and Gohan could have been on death's door and they would still happily gorge themselves on anything edible presented to them. The most she'd been able to do was to convince him to drink ice water, which he thirstily gulped down and then laid back down with his back to her.

He needed a shower and a shave. His jaw was rough with stubble and his long hair was tangled terribly from tossing and turning in his sleep. He kept waking up in a cold sweat and he knew his clothes must be on the verge of grossness, but he just couldn't care at that moment.

The first night, Lindsey has slept soundly, emotionally worn out with worry over her friends. She was still mad at Catie, she honestly didn't know if she would ever forgive her, but Lindsey couldn't help but feel sorry for her. But the second night, Lindsey was up and down from bed, hearing Trunks crying in the other room. She wanted to hug him and tell him it would be okay, but she couldn't bring herself to lie to him anymore when she didn't know if that was the truth or not, and she had the definite impression he just wanted to be left alone. So she sat on the floor by the door way in the dark and fought silent tears, wishing for some miracle to come along and fix what she could not.

That's why she was so excited on Sunday afternoon when Gohan's voice called from the front door, "I'm hoooome!"

She ran to him and jumped into his arms, kissing him furiously. "I missed you so much!"

He laughed. "I missed you too, babe. Everything okay?"

"Hey kiddo," Goku grinned, standing in the doorway behind Gohan.

"I didn't know you were stopping by," she said to Goku.

"We've got some fish to clean before I head home," Goku said. "Your house is closer, so Gohan and I thought we'd do it here."

"Ah, gotcha," she said, then turned back to Gohan. "It's been quite the soap opera around here while you've been gone."

"Really?" he asked, setting his bag of dirty clothes on the floor. "What happened?"

"Well, it seems we have a roommate for awhile," Lindsey answered.

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Who would that be?" He really hoped it wasn't Sabriena again. He liked her just fine, but only from a distance. Her personality was overwhelming.

"Trunks."

"What for?" Gohan asked, concern rising in his voice.

"He and Catie broke up," Lindsey said quietly, glancing towards the stairs.

"Oh, it can't be that bad," Gohan said. "They did that like a million times at the Lookout."

"No, it's bad," she said seriously. "Like, bad, bad. He's done nothing but lay in bed and cry for two days."

Gohan's eyes went wide. "Seriously?"

Goku's stomach was hurting. He knew what had happened – Trunks had made him promise to never tell a soul. Catie must have found out somehow. "Did he tell her about Mohini?"

Lindsey looked at him. "You knew?"

Goku nodded.

"Everyone knows he kissed her," Gohan said. "Why is that anything new? I know Catie's been rough on him about it, though. Did she finally decide she didn't want to deal with it or something?"

"There's… more to the story," Lindsey said hesitantly

"Like what?" Gohan asked.

Lindsey told him the whole story in hushed tones about her conversation with Trunks on the porch, about him crying on her shoulder, the things he'd said. Gohan's face grew steadily paler with her every word.

"Aw, man," Gohan finally said when she finished. "Why'd he go and do something like that? That's not the Trunks I know."

"I don't know how to handle it," Lindsey admitted. "If it was one of the girls, we'd burn pictures and eat chocolate and sing 'Before He Cheats' at the top of our lungs. But dealing with a _man_ whose heart is broken… This is new to me."

"I don't know," Gohan shook his head. He looked over at Goku. "Dad?"

"Don't look at me," Goku said. "I haven't dealt with something like that before."

Lindsey pursed her lips. "You two are useless, you know that?"

Goku blushed and Gohan laughed nervously. "Sorry, babe."

There was a tromping on the stairs and everyone looked over to see a very disheveled Trunks standing there. "Hey Gohan."

"Hey buddy," Gohan answered, walking past his wife to stand closer to his friend. "You okay?"

Trunks shook his head. "Did Lindsey tell you what happened?"

"I did," she answered. "I'm sorry, Trunks. I hope you don't mind."

"Naw," he answered, looking down at his bare feet. "You saved me the trouble."

"Is there anything we can do?" Gohan asked.

"Lindsey's done enough, letting me stay here," Trunks said, looking up again. "I hope you don't mind that I was here while you were on your trip."

"I don't mind at all," Gohan answered truthfully. "I trust you, Trunks."

"You shouldn't," Trunks muttered. "I don't even trust myself anymore."

"Trunks, don't be like that," Goku scolded. "You weren't in your right mind when that happened. It wasn't your fault."

"I wish everyone would stop saying that!" Trunks growled. "I knew what I was doing! I just didn't care!" He turned and angrily kicked the stairstep behind him.

Lindsey flinched and tried to eye the wooden stair, making sure he hadn't cracked it. He had. Dammit.

"Just calm down," Gohan said soothingly. "We'll work this out. You can stay here as long as you need."

Trunks pressed his lips together tightly and nodded.

"Come outside with us, Trunks," Goku invited. "Some fresh air will do ya good."

"Oh, all right," Trunks sighed and followed Goku and Gohan out the front door as Goku cheerily started telling him all about their trip.

Glancing through the front glass to make sure Trunks was going to be staying outside for a bit, Lindsey hurried upstairs to strip his bed and wash his sheets. Maybe the fresh air, a shower, and clean sheets to sleep on would help him have a better night tonight. She certainly didn't want to listen to him crying all night again. That bothered her a lot, to see a man cry. She wasn't sure why, whether it was from memories of her dad barking at her brothers to be tough or from the coldness of the Russians she used to stay with, but she just wasn't used to witnessing that type of an emotion from men.

There were ringed stains on the bedsheets from sweat and she wrinkled her nose as she pulled them from the mattress. She carried the mess back downstairs and threw it in the washer, then returned to the guest bedroom. She hauled the heavy suitcase onto the bed and unzipped it, revealing his hastily folded clothes and the photo of Catie. An anger welled up in her chest as she stared at the photo of her beautiful ex-best friend. She had the urge to hurl the photo across the room, but she stopped herself just in time and reminded herself that she should have more respect for Trunks' belongings. She set the frame on the bedside table under the lamp, propping it up towards the bed. She pulled his clothes from his bag and refolded them, setting them in the empty drawers neatly, or hanging up a few of them in the closet. She put his toothbrush and razor on the bathroom sink, his shampoo in the shower stall, and then stashed his suitcase in the bottom of the closet. By the time she was finished, she heard the washer stop downstairs and went down to throw the linens in the dryer. She stopped on her way through the living room and grabbed Gohan's bag of clothes. She wrinkled her nose at the bag – it smelled like campfire smoke and fish.

She dropped the bag on the floor next to the washer and pulled the damp sheets out, tossing them in the dryer, then dumped Gohan's bag into the washing machine and turned both appliances on. She washed her hands in the utility sink, then headed for the kitchen.

She smiled to herself. "Maybe I'm not so bad at this housewife thing after all," she said as she looked in the refrigerator for something to fix for supper. "But I'm not cooking fish tonight!" Lindsey hated fish. She'd cook it for Gohan when he asked, and she did it well, but she wouldn't eat it herself unless she absolutely had to, like on nights when Chichi invited them over for supper. Lindsey was much more of a steak'n'taters kind'a girl. Actually, that sounded good. That sounded damn good. She pulled packages of steak from the fridge and set them on the counter, then headed out to the back porch to light the grill.

The men were already there, cleaning the cooler full of trout. Trunks was actually laughing.

"What'd he say when he woke up?" Trunks chuckled.

Gohan was laughing. "Oh, he threatened to kill me, of course. But, you know, he shouldn't dish it out if he can't take it."

"I'm surprised he didn't try to get you back," Trunks said, pulling the insides out of a fish with his bare fingers and dropping them unceremoniously into a bucket.

"Oh, he did," Gohan answered. "He filled up my shoes with the nightcrawlers we brought for bait."

Trunks gasped. "You didn't put them on, did you?"

Gohan growled. "Yes."

Goku was doubled over in laughter. "You should've seen the look on Gohan's face!" He wiped his eyes. "Priceless."

"What'd you do?" Trunks asked.

"Pulled my shoe off and dumped them on his head."

Lindsey was snickering as she opened the big grill. She dumped fresh charcoal in it and set the metal grate to one side. She was glad she'd cleaned out the charred remains of the Ouija board. She didn't particularly feel like explaining that to Gohan at the moment. She'd tell him about it later, but she didn't want to spoil the pleasant atmosphere on the porch right then.

"It went on all weekend," Goku snickered. "I don't think I've ever laughed so much in my life."

"Did Seventeen prank anybody else?" Trunks asked. "Or did anyone else get in on it?"

"Yamcha tried," Gohan answered. "He got shut down pretty quick."

Lindsey had turned to watch their conversation after lighting the grill.

"Oh?" Trunks asked.

"He thought it'd be funny to leave a rubber snake in Seventeen's sleeping bag," Goku snickered.

"Lame," Trunks muttered.

"Yeah, he didn't try any more pranks after Seventeen got back at him," Gohan added, plopping a big trout on the cutting board and chopping the head off quickly. "Seventeen got in his bag and hung his underwear up on a pole like a flag. Yamcha didn't much care for that."

"I should'a gone with you guys," Trunks mumbled, filleting the fish and dropping the pieces of meat in a big bowl of clean water.

"You gonna fry this fish up for us, Lindsey?" Goku asked.

"Not tonight," she answered

Goku looked disappointed. "Aww, how come?"

"You guys just ate fish for three days straight!" she protested. "I'm grilling steak and that's that."

"Oh, all right," Goku said with a slight smile. "I guess steak will be okay."

She shook her head. "Won't Chichi have supper ready for you?"

"I can eat twice," he grinned.

"I worry about you," she sighed and went back in the house.

"You sure you don't mind me staying here?" Trunks asked.

"Not at all," Gohan assured him. "Now stop worrying about it. You've got too much to deal with as it is. You're always welcome here."

The corner of Trunks' mouth twitched. "Thanks." He really did appreciate them opening their home up to him like that and he didn't want to impose. He didn't know if it was Gohan's presence or the sunlight and fresh air, or just having something to keep his hands busy, but Trunks was suddenly feeling better. At least his mind was preoccupied for the moment.

Lindsey returned a short while later with foil-wrapped potatoes and stuck them down in the hot coals, then slapped the steaks on the grill. The smell of the sizzling meat made Trunks' stomach growl.

"You hungry?" Goku asked, hopping over the rail of the porch and turning on the outside tap to wash his hands.

"Starving," Trunks answered, dropping to the ground beside him and letting the cold water run over his hands. He cupped his hands together and splashed the water over his face. Man, that felt good. He did it a couple more times, scrubbing his face to wash away the tears that had dried there. Then he stepped aside to let Gohan wash his own hands.

"You tryin' to grow a beard?" Goku teased, grabbing at Trunks' chin. "What's that?"

Trunks chuckled. "Didn't feel like shaving."

Gohan ran a hand over his own rough cheeks. "Yeah, I could use a shave, too."

Lindsey had wandered to their side of the porch and leaned on the railing, rubbing her chin. "Not me. I'mma grow a beard."

They laughed at her and Gohan called her "silly."

"Ya'll need to get cleaned up," she said, returning to the grill. "Supper'll be ready in a minute."

"We just did," Goku protested.

"All you did was run your hands under some water!" she argued. "Don't you want to shower before we eat?"

"Shower?" Goku wrinkled his nose. "My hands are clean. I'm fine."

Lindsey sighed, but left him alone.

"Girls worry too much about that stuff," Goku said, returning to the porch and sitting in a patio chair.

"Here, babe," Gohan said, holding out the bowl that was now filled with fish fillets. "Put this in the fridge for me?"

She wrinkled her nose. "You can't do it?"

"Okay," he huffed. "I'll put this in the fridge and you go dump the bucket of fish guts."

She snatched the bowl from him and marched in the house.

"That's what I thought," he smirked and picked up the bucket to carry it out in the yard.

They ate their dinner ravenously, barely speaking to one another. Lindsey was still in awe of how quickly they could devour their food.

"You'd think I'd be used to this," she muttered, but they paid her no attention.

The sun was just beginning to set as they sat back from their plates, groaning that they were stuffed and complimenting Lindsey on her cooking.

"I might not ever leave," Trunks joked.

She gave him a small smile and pulled her cigarettes out of her pocket. She lit one and leaned back to exhale a long stream of white smoke.

"Hey! I thought you quit!" Goku cried.

Oops. She screwed up her face. "Everything but the cigarettes."

"But I threw them in the fire when we were training! The whole pack!"

"You also thought I only took one pack to last me a whole month out there with you," she said simply. "I had, like, three cartons in my bag."

"But I never saw you smoking," he said.

She cringed. "Why do you think I spent so much time by the fire?"

"I thought you were cooking," he answered, crossing his arms and pouting.

"I was," she answered. "But I was also using the fire as a cover. I'm sorry, Goku."

He pursed his lips for a moment. "I guess that's not the worst thing you can do."

"I told her she's allowed one addiction," Gohan said, giving her a displeased look. "I can handle the cigarettes. I really wish you'd quit, though."

"I'll quit when I'm dead," she answered, taking another deep drag.

"Which will be sooner than later if you keep it up," Gohan stated.

She looked away from them and exhaled again.

"You'll have to quit if you get pregnant," Goku said with a mischievous grin.

She choked on her smoke. "Dad! Would you give it a rest?!"

"Aw, come on! Wouldn't it be fun? Piccolo and Jenny are starting their family! All these new kids with warrior bloodlines, we could have so much fun training them!" he exclaimed gleefully.

"Then train Piccolo's kids!" Lindsey argued.

"Well he's gonna want to train them himself," Goku countered. "I want you guys to have one."

"You really want to be a grandpa at your age?" Lindsey asked. "You're, what? In your thirties?"

Goku nodded.

"Don't you think that's a little young?" she asked, flicking an ash from her cigarette over the edge of the porch. "Why don't you and Chichi just have another one?"

"Chichi's got her hands full with Goten," Goku said. "He and little Trunks are quite the troublemakers."

"So just train Goten," she answered simply.

"I do! But it'd be fun to have another one come along," he said. "Please, Lindsey?"

She gave him an incredulous look.

"Plus you get the fun of making one," he teased.

Gohan choked on his lemonaide. "DAD!"

"What?!" Goku blinked innocently.

A muscle was working in Lindsey's jaw. She really didn't want to have this conversation. She dragged deeply on her cigarette, pulling the smoke into her lungs to calm her.

Trunks leaned his face on his hand, his elbow propped on the table, his eyes flicking back and forth between Lindsey and Goku, who sat at opposite ends of the table. He was glad to have no part of this argument.

"I can't believe you said that," Gohan grumbled, sitting back in his chair.

"We're all adults here," Goku said. "Don't be so uptight, Gohan."

Trunks couldn't stop himself. "Next thing you know, Goku'll start recommending the best baby-making positions."

Goku laughed loudly while Gohan cringed and Lindsey buried her face in her hands.

"Well, I don't know which ones work the best for that, but there is this one…"

"OKAY," Lindsey half-shouted, getting to her feet, cutting off the rest of Goku's sentence. "I think we've had quite enough talk about this! There will be no baby-making in this house." She flipped her cigarette out into the grass.

"But, Lindsey," Goku protested.

"NO!" She was beyond embarrassed at that point. "May I remind you, it may be all fun and games for you men, but did you ever stop to think about what it would do to my body? I'm perfectly happy with the way my life is right now! And if you keep pushing, I'll go get my tubes tied and that will be the end of it! Hell, I'll have the whole damn thing removed!" And with that, she stormed passed them and into the house slamming the glass door behind her.

Goku was shocked. He didn't realize she felt that adamant about it. He looked at Gohan. "Jeez, Gohan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make her mad."

Gohan shrugged, but felt a little disappointed. "Don't worry about it, Dad."

"You okay?" Trunks asked.

"Yeah," Gohan answered, grabbing his glass and drinking his lemonaide again.

"Don't you want kids?" Goku asked, leaning forward on the table.

Gohan shrugged.

"You don't?" Goku asked, surprised.

Gohan shrugged again, staring at the glass in his hand as he rested it on the table.

Goku was really disappointed, but decided it wasn't his place to push them into something they weren't ready for or something they didn't want altogether. "I'll back off," he said in a resigned sort of way.

Gohan nodded. "That's probably best."

Goku looked at the glass door. He was surprised it hadn't shattered with as hard as Lindsey had slammed it. "I think I should apologize to her." He pushed away from the table and got to his feet, then disappeared inside the house.

"Man, and I thought I had problems," Trunks said.

Goku found Lindsey upstairs, remaking Trunks' bed.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I made you mad," he said.

"No big deal," she muttered, tucking the last corner of the sheet under the mattress. She grabbed the flat sheet and tossed it on the bed, yanking it up and bringing it slowly down to land neatly on the bed.

"No, really, Lindsey," Goku continued, "it wasn't my place. I'm sorry."

She looked up at him as she smoothed the sheet. "It's okay. Sorry I yelled at you."

"We okay?" he asked uncertainly.

She nodded. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm just a little stressed with Trunks here."

"He giving you a hard time?" Goku asked, tipping his head to the side.

She shook her head. "No, I'm just worried about him. At least he finally ate something."

"You can't fix this for him," Goku said. "You can be supportive, but he has to handle this himself."

"I know, and that's what stresses me out," she answered, stuffing a pillow back into its case.

"Don't do that," he said, reaching for a pillow to hand to her.

"STOP!" she snapped before he touched it. "Thank you for trying to help, but you're filthy. I don't think Trunks wants his pillows smelling like fish."

Goku laughed and retracted his hand.

"Don't do what?" she asked, continuing their conversation as she placed the pillows on the bed.

"Don't stress about things you can't control," he explained.

"But we love Trunks," she said. "He and Gohan are so close. How can I not be stressed?"

"You can care without letting it get to you," Goku answered.

She sighed. "I suppose you're right. I'll try."

"And don't forget, Catie's hurting, too," Goku said. "She needs you right now."

"Fuck Catie," Lindsey hissed as she tugged the comforter back onto the bed.

"Lindsey," Goku growled in a warning voice. "You know I don't like that word. And you also know what happened that day was an accident."

"Yeah, caused by her," Lindsey answered.

"We all make mistakes," Goku stated. "You know that better than anyone."

"My mistake didn't kill anyone," she replied.

"It nearly killed you," he countered.

She huffed.

Goku sighed. "This conversation wasn't supposed to be about Catie and Trunks. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't realize you don't want children and I'm sorry for butting in."

"Okay," she said softly and turned away.

"Well, I'd better get home," he said. "Chichi will have a fit if I don't show up in time for supper."

Lindsey rubbed one eye, turning around to face him. "You're really going to eat again?"

"Well of course!" he laughed.

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "This is why I worry about you."

They returned downstairs to the kitchen where she packaged up his share of the fish and sent him home. She returned to the porch where Gohan and Trunks were sitting and she sat back in her seat, lighting another cigarette.

"Dad apologize to you?" Gohan asked.

Lindsey nodded. "Now let's not talk about it anymore. I wanna enjoy the rest of my evening with you all."

Gohan nodded and smiled. "Right."

"You have something in mind?" Trunks asked, eager to keep his mind occupied.

"We could just hang out and watch a movie," she said. "That sound okay?"

"Works for me," Trunks answered.

"Sounds good," Gohan said.

"Good. Now both of you go get showers," she ordered. "I am not sitting in close proximity to either of you with the way you smell."

They laughed, but got up and retreated into the house to get cleaned up, leaving her on the porch to finish her cigarette and contemplate everything that had happened in the past couple days, including the argument she'd just had with her father-in-law.


	8. A Gift from Sabriena

Catie didn't know where Trunks had gone, nor did she care. She decided to deal with the hurt and betrayal in the best way she knew how – training. Even though the Gravity Room was still unusable, she insisted on sparring with Vegeta for hours on end in the yard. She was up before the sun rose, running miles on the treadmill, waiting for Vegeta to get up so she could spar with him. And when he stopped to eat, or wanted to train on his own, she found other ways to keep herself busy. Swimming laps, lifting weights, anything she could think of. She started walking around powered up a lot more so it wouldn't take so much of her energy to do it.

Vegeta had cocked an eyebrow at her and asked, "Kakarot teach you that?"

"No. Why?"

"He did that before the Cell Games. He and Gohan spent days as super Saiyans."

"Well damn," she'd muttered. "Here I thought I was being original."

He snorted. "Ah, do it anyway. Couldn't hurt."

She was becoming increasingly more accurate with her vine technique as well. She set up targets of tin cans and would lash out with her vines from twenty yards away, concentrating on hitting just one and leaving the others untouched. The more accurate she became, the further away she'd stand from the cans perched on the low garden wall.

Vegeta was watching her one afternoon when he threw her a rare compliment. "You're getting pretty good at that."

"You think?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at a middle can and throwing her arm out so fast it was a blur. The can shot into the air as Catie's vine made contact with it, the other cans remaining firmly in place.

"You need to stiffen those things up," Vegeta said.

Catie turned to him. "What?"

"Those vines," he said, getting to his feet. "They're accurate, but they're not very strong. They're ripped apart too easily."

Catie didn't understand. "But, then how come the one I hit Gohan with didn't snap?"

"Because you were in a different mindset that day," Vegeta answered. He'd been working this out in his head for several hours, trying to remember the details of what he'd been able to see and sense. "You were more focused on it. You were trying to restrain someone much stronger than you."

Catie remembered. The vines she'd thrown at Gohan were hardy and woody. They weren't the lush, green vines she was so used to using. She pursed her lips, trying to work out how she'd done it. "And I was mad."

"Think, Catherine," Vegeta said. "You have to create a stronger attack than that. You can slow them up with those, but it's not going to save you."

"I've beaten them before," Catie answered.

Vegeta jerked his chin to one side. "I don't know if that will be enough this time."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"They bested us in that castle," Vegeta said. "But now they've seen what we're capable of on many different occasions. They'll be preparing themselves. They never attack the same way twice. We have to be ready for anything."

"But how do we fight their magick?" Catie asked. "The spells they use… We don't have anything like that on our side."

"Yes we do," he answered. "We have you. And we have the other girls. There's magick in you. That's why you take on such a drastic physical change when you transform. That's not energy, Catherine. It's something more. We just have to work out how to use it to our best advantage. And I think, thus far, that we've only scratched the surface."

She nodded. "I don't know how we're going to do it, but we can figure it out. Besides, we have three years! We can be a lot more powerful by then."

"One year, if we're lucky," he corrected her.

"Huh? But Skuld said…"

"I know what the Fate said," Vegeta spoke over her. "I also know what she said about the future being uncertain. Everyone needs to train as if this war were upon us tomorrow."

Catie drew a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Then what are we waiting on?"

Vegeta smiled slightly as he powered up. "That's more like it."

* * *

It was a whole week before Jenny worked up the nerve to return to Capsule Corp. She hadn't spoke to anyone in that time, except for Piccolo. He finally convinced her that if she waited any longer, things were only going to get worse. She was terribly embarrassed for breaking the Gravity Room and didn't know who she was more afraid of at the moment – Vegeta or Bulma.

That's why, when she finally arrived at Capsule Corp, she snuck in quietly, her muscles tensed, ready to turn tail and run if she heard any of them start to scream at her. But the house was eerily quiet. She started to relax as she wandered the halls, trying to figure out where everyone could be. She finally found Catie and Vegeta out in the yard, sparring with such ferocity, she almost wondered if they were fighting for real.

"Jenny!" Catie exclaimed happily and promptly took a punch to the face from Vegeta in her moment of distraction.

"Never let your guard down!" he bellowed.

Catie pushed herself to a sitting position in the grass, rubbing her cheek where a bruise was starting to form. "Dammit, Vegeta."

He lowered to the ground and rounded on Jenny. "And just where have you been?"

She cringed. "At the Lookout."

"You've missed nearly a week of training," he growled, crossing his arms.

She wished he'd yell at her. This calm, disapproving tone was way worse than if he'd just beat the hell out of her. "I felt bad about messing up the GR," she admitted, looking at the ground. "I thought maybe I'd give you all a few days to, you know, decide to not hate me."

Vegeta closed his eyes momentarily, fighting the urge to roll them. "Idiot," he muttered. "I hope you're ready. You've got seven days worth of training to make up for. And you're going to do it now!"

Jenny nodded and set her bag on the ground. "Yessir."

Vegeta stepped back and pointed at both Catie and Jenny. "Fight."

Catie got to her feet and stared at him. "Huh?"

"You heard me," he said. "I said fight. I want to see which of you is the better fighter."

Catie almost felt as though she had the unfair advantage. She'd had way more one-on-one training with Vegeta than Jenny ever had. But she powered up and squared off at Jenny, who did the same.

'Now, let's see what happens when the two of you give it your all,' Vegeta thought.

"Ready?" Catie asked with a smirk and raised her fists.

"I am," Jenny answered just as haughtily, "but you're not."

Both girls flew at each other, kicking, punching, spinning, dodging, launching vines and powerful streams of water. Catie aimed a powerful kick at Jenny's ribs, but Jenny caught her by the shin and spun in mid-air, slamming Catie to the ground. With a snarl, Catie launched herself up again, lashing out with a vine that wrapped around Jenny's ankle. She yanked it with all her strength, pulling Jenny to the ground with an earth-shattering force. Catie smirked, but Jenny unleashed a wave of water that swept Catie off her feet and slammed her back against a tree. Before she could suck in a breath of air, Jenny was on top of her again, punching her and kicking her with all she had.

"Back off," Catie growled and shot a thin, woodsy vine that wrapped tightly around Jenny's arm.

Vegeta was about to scold Catie for such a pathetic attack, but froze when he heard Jenny screaming.

Big, sharp thorns had erupted along the vine, piercing Jenny's skin.

"Catie! Let go!" Jenny screamed, as she powered down, trying to pull away, but all that accomplished was the thorns ripping through her skin even more.

Catie blinked and powered down in an instant, the vine wilting in her hand.

"Son-of-a-BITCH," Jenny hissed, gently peeling the vine away as the open wounds on her arm began to seep blood.

Catie's eyes were wide. "Jen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"Bullshit," Jenny spat, but she gave Catie an approving smirk. "You keep working on that technique and I won't stand a chance against you."

Vegeta crossed the yard and grabbed Jenny's wrist harshly, inspecting the holes in her skin. He frowned for a moment and turned Jenny's arm over to look at the other side. Jenny and Catie cast nervous glances at each other.

"Not a bad technique," Vegeta said finally. "You should make it bigger so that it does more damage."

Catie beamed, but Vegeta suddenly flung Jenny's wrist away and turned to her. "But you need to control yourself. If you're going to practice an attack like that, don't do it on flesh and blood! Her arm is nearly in shreds!"

Jenny thought that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it did hurt and she was bleeding pretty good. Why did she always end up bleeding all over the place?

"Ah, I'll be all right," Jenny said.

Vegeta gave her a look that clearly said "shut up" but she was feeling bold for some reason and chose to ignore him.

"Just wait until Trunks sees it!" Jenny grinned.

Catie's breath caught in her throat. No one had even spoke Trunks' name since he'd left a week ago. Catie's shoulders were shaking and she turned away from Jenny, tears burning her eyes again.

Jenny had looked at her arm again and was oblivious to Catie's reaction. "Where is he anyway?" she asked absentmindedly as she turned her shoulder, trying to see the back of her arm. "Damn, this really stings."

"He's not here," Vegeta said and crossed the yard to enter the house.

Jenny blinked at Vegeta's back, then looked at Catie, who was still facing the opposite direction. "Where'd he go?"

"Don't know," Catie answered thickly, rubbing her nose. "Don't care."

Jenny tipped her head to the side. "Cat, what's wrong?"

Catie shook her head and crossed her arms, still not facing Jenny. She screwed up her face, trying to force back her sadness. She didn't want to think about him right now. She didn't want to think about him ever. She wished that she could forget that he ever existed in the first place. Why had he had to come back to their timeline? She could've avoided this whole mess if he'd just stayed where he was supposed to. But no. He had to come back to this time and steal her heart with one flash of his perfect smile, once glance of his gorgeous blue eyes… Her heart was screaming at her brain to shut the hell up.

Jenny placed her non-bleeding hand on Catie's shoulder and was shocked to feel it trembling. She spun Catie on the spot and met her gaze with worried eyes. "Did something happen to Trunks?"

"We broke up," Catie answered, struggling to keep her voice level.

"What happened?" Jenny gasped.

Catie shook her head.

"Catie, you can tell me anything, you know that," Jenny insisted.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Catie spat and pushed past Jenny, storming across the yard as Vegeta came back outside. He glanced at Catie as she passed, but ignored her and walked straight for Jenny.

"What happened?" Jenny asked.

"Hmm?" Vegeta asked, unwinding a long roll of gauze.

"Catie just snapped on me after she told me she broke up with Trunks," Jenny said in a bewildered tone.

Vegeta was too focused on bandaging Jenny's arm to figure out how to tell Jenny what had happened. And she was too busy staring at the door Catie had marched through to realize what Vegeta was doing.

Jenny finally shook her head and looked at her arm as Vegeta finished wrapping it for her. "Hey, thanks!"

"See if Piccolo can get a hold of some sensu beans for you," Vegeta ordered. "That'll keep it from bleeding long enough for you to make it home."

Jenny nodded. "Vegeta, where's Trunks? What happened?"

Vegeta hesitated for a minute. "He's at Gohan's. And I'll say nothing more about it."

"Are we done here today?" Jenny asked.

"I suppose," Vegeta grumbled. "But you'd better be back here bright and early in the morning!"

* * *

Jenny couldn't decide whether to go home to the Lookout and tell Piccolo what had happened or if she wanted to go straight to Gohan's house and check on Trunks. She finally decided that she should go to Piccolo first and see what he thought - if she should even get involved in what was going on between Trunks and Catie. But she knew she would anyway.

Jenny was surprised to see Piccolo talking to someone when she arrived back at the Lookout. "Dende?" she asked as her feet touched the big, white tile.

"Hello, Jenny!" Dende greeted her cheerfully.

She ran over to him and hugged him tightly. "Oh, thank God you're back!"

Dende stepped back, breaking off the hug, his cheeks a bit flushed. "Yes, I heard what happened in my absence." He looked up and met her eyes. "Jenny, I am so sorry."

"All that matters is that you're back now," she said, heaving a sigh of relief. "We have the dragonballs back!" she cried, throwing her arms in the air.

"What did you do?!" Piccolo shouted upon seeing the blood-soaked bandages on her arm.

"Oh, that," she said, looking at her arm again. "Catie's got a new technique. She added thorns to her vines."

Piccolo snorted in an irritated sort of way. "As if she isn't deadly enough as it is."

"Now, dammit, don't be like that," Jenny said as Dende stepped closer to her and began to unwind the bandages. "It was an accident."

"I'm afraid I have to side with Gohan's wife on this one," Piccolo stated, crossing his arms.

"Oh for crying out loud," Jenny muttered, then hissed as a hot breeze hit the open wounds on her arms.

"Catie did this?" Dende asked in surprise. "How long was I gone for her to get so aggressive?"

"Speaking of aggressive," Jenny said, "Catie told me she and Trunks broke up."

"Any idea why?" Piccolo asked.

"No clue," Jenny answered. "But Vegeta said he's staying with Gohan, so I thought maybe we should stop by and check on him."

Piccolo fixed her with a knowing stare.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Gossip," Piccolo muttered.

Jenny was momentarily distracted by Dende muttering words in a language she couldn't understand and a warming sensation that spread through her arm. She stared at the soft glowing light, then smiled when it faded, revealing her arm to be smooth and intact again.

"Okay," she sighed. "Maybe a little part of me is going insane trying to figure out what happened."

"I knew-"

"BUT," she interrupted. "I really do want to check on Trunks."

Piccolo gave her a soft smile. "All right. Go get Paige up from her nap. We'll go pay them a visit."

"SQUEEEEEE!" Jenny giggled and jumped into the air, suspending herself with her energy for a moment to plant a big, sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"How did I ever end up with a weirdo like you?" Piccolo growled, rubbing his cheek.

"Because you find my weirdness endearing," she grinned. "Plus I'm great in bed." And with that she trotted off across the Lookout.

"I didn't just hear that," Dende said, his face burning.

"Darn right you didn't," Piccolo answered.

"Hey, Piccolo?"

The taller Namek turned.

"Would it be okay if I tagged along?" Dende asked. "I haven't seen Gohan in a very long time."

Piccolo nodded. "Sure. He'll be glad to see you."

Jenny returned a short while later with Paige in her arms and a big, pink diaper bag over one shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

"Trunks! You gotta get up! It's after noon!" Gohan said loudly, opening the door to Trunks' guestroom.

Trunks groaned and rolled over in his bed.

"C'mon, bro," Gohan insisted. "Get up. You'll feel better."

"I'll feel better when I'm dead," Trunks muttered into the pillows.

"I will sick Seventeen on you," Gohan threatened.

Without looking up from his face-down position in the pillows, Trunks raised his arm to Gohan and extended his middle finger.

"Okay," Gohan said. "But don't say I didn't warn-"

A loud knocking from the front door made him cut off mid-sentence. He glanced at Trunks once more and said, "We're not done here."

Trunks continued to flip him off.

"Jenny!" Gohan exclaimed as he opened the door. "Feels like I haven't seen you in a long time!"

"It's only been a few weeks, silly," she grinned, stepping past him.

"Dende!" Gohan grinned.

"Hey Gohan!" Dende smiled, hugging Gohan briefly.

"Now it really _has_ been a long time since I've seen you," Gohan said.

"Just got back from planet Namek," Dende said as he and Piccolo entered the house.

"How was your trip?" Gohan asked.

"It was nice," Dende answered. "Everyone's doing well."

Gohan put his hand up to his mouth and hollered up the stairs, "Hey Lins! Come down here! We have company!"

Lindsey was still in her pajama shorts and tank, with striped socks pulled up over her knees. "Hey guys," she grinned, but yawned at the same time.

"Nice socks," Jenny giggled.

Lindsey looked down at her brightly colored legs. "They're my sexy socks."

"Oh yes," Jenny snickered, setting Paige down on the carpet. "I can see that. Turns me on."

Lindsey purred loudly at Jenny, who broke out in a fit of laughter as the guys looked awkwardly at them.

Paige was scurrying away across the floor in her bright yellow sundress, the ruffled bloomers underneath showing.

"Oh my god, she's so cute," Lindsey cooed, walking over and dropping down on the floor in front of Paige. She held out her arms. "Come to aunt Linnie?"

Paige paused and peered up at the redhead, then her face split in a huge smile and she hurried over into Lindsey's arms.

"Oh, I could just gobble you up," Lindsey said, planting quick kisses on Paige's cheek. The baby squealed in delight.

Watching Lindsey cuddling the baby made something in Gohan's heart twinge. He turned away and spoke to Piccolo. "Any reason for the visit?" he asked politely.

Piccolo nodded to Jenny, who said, "We heard Trunks was here."

"Yeah, he is," Gohan answered. He paused for a second and then yelled up the stairs, "BUT HE WON'T GET OUT OF BED!"

There was a muffled shout from Trunks upstairs, but Gohan couldn't understand what he said. He looked questioningly to Piccolo.

"I'm not repeating that," Piccolo said firmly and moved to sit on the couch.

"I'll go get him up," Jenny volunteered. She trotted up the stairs and flung open the door to the guestroom. "TRUUUUNKS!"

He still hadn't moved. He growled into his pillow something that sounded like, "Go away."

Jenny placed her hands on her hips, staring at him. "Nope. I'm not leaving. You have to deal with me."

He shook his head slowly side to side, still pressing his face into the pillow.

With a playful growl, Jenny leapt into the air and landed on Trunks, bouncing to the other side of the bed as he cried, "OOF!"

"Get up," she demanded, lying beside him.

He turned his head to look at her. "I hate you so much right now."

"You're really going to hate me if I have to douse you with water," Jenny threatened.

Trunks rubbed his bloodshot eyes and rolled to his back, staring at the ceiling. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was tangled and matted again.

"So what happened?" Jenny asked.

Trunks groaned and ducked under the covers. He didn't want to talk about it again.

Jenny huffed and dove under the bright white sheets with him. She lay on her side, staring at him. "You can't hide from me."

A small smile pulled at his lips. "I can try."

"But you will be unsuccessful," she stated. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

Trunks sighed and rolled to his side to face her. "I don't want you to hate me, too."

"I won't hate you," she said softly. "You're like the brother I never had. I love you."

That just made it hurt worse.

Jenny studied his face for a long time, waiting for him to speak. His jaw had a healthy line of lavender stubble, his eyes were tired and bloodshot with the dark circles, and he looked like he didn't have a friend in the world.

Trunks finally broke down and told the whole story, again, to Jenny. His voice was flat as he spoke and only the occasional tear slid down his rough cheek. He'd moved pretty well past the crying stage and was now just miserably numb.

When he finally looked into Jenny's eyes, he was startled to see anger blazing in her eyes.

"Jen?" he asked.

"That's disgusting," she spat.

"Huh?" he blinked at her. "Jen, I said I didn't know what I was doing! I didn't mean for it to happen! If I'd been right in the head, it wouldn't have happened at all!"

"Exactly," she said, looking fierce. "That's rape."

Trunks jumped. "What? No. Jenny just… no."

"Were you forced to do something you didn't want to do?" she asked.

"Well, I dunno if 'forced' is exactly the right word," Trunks admitted.

"So you did it of your own free will?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow dangerously, challenging him to choose his words carefully.

"Well, no," he said.

"Would you have done it if she hadn't put a spell on you?"

"No."

"Then the way I see it, it's no different than if she'd slipped something into your drink and had her way with you," Jenny stated. "As far as I'm concerned, that's rape."

"NO," Trunks insisted. He didn't like that word. "I'm a guy. Things like that don't happen to men. And we already know someone who that happened to – I'm not going to compare this to that."

"Why not?" Jenny asked hashly. "I don't see that much of a difference between your situation and Lindsey's."

"Well I do," Trunks insisted.

"How do you figure?" Jenny demanded. "You were both forced to do something you didn't want to do!"

"NO!" Trunks shot back. "I did want to do it! I just was so hypnotized by her, I wasn't thinking clearly. I did want it! I… I did…" Horror washed across his face as he realized what he was saying. "I did want it. I could have stopped myself." Fresh tears sprung up in his eyes.

Jenny pursed her lips for a moment. "We all make bad choices sometimes, Trunks. And it just so happened that your choice was heavily influenced by forces beyond your control. You _were_ under a spell, whether you liked it or not. This wasn't solely your doing. It's not completely your fault."

Trunks scrubbed at his eyes again. "So what the fuck do I do now?" he asked, turning to look at her again.

The diffused light from the sheets they were hiding under was casting a pretty, golden light over Jenny's features as she smiled at him. "You're going to get up, get dressed," she answered in a soft voice, "and shave that shit off your face cause you look like a creeper."

Trunks genuinely laughed at that.

"And then you're going to come downstairs and be social," Jenny ordered. "You need some time with your friends and to find yourself again before you try to win Catie back."

"You think she ever will take me back?" Trunks asked.

"I don't know," Jenny answered truthfully, but kindly. "I know she still loves you. She wouldn't be hurting so bad if she didn't. You guys just need some time apart. It will work out the way it's supposed to."

"Promise?"

Jenny gave a nod. "Promise."

He reached out for her and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks, Jen."

Jenny sat up, tossing the sheets away. "And make sure you brush your teeth. Good lord, boy, your breath could peel paint."

* * *

"Is he getting up?" Gohan asked as Jenny proudly strode down the stairs.

"Yup," Jenny answered.

"Good," Gohan said, turning his attention back to Paige, who was grabbing at his face. "Ow," he whined as she grabbed his bottom lip and tried to stick her other hand in his mouth. "Nom, nom, nom, nom," he teased pretending to bite her hand. She giggled loudly.

There was a knock at the door and Lindsey pushed herself to her feet to answer it. Four huge boxes were sitting on the porch, addressed to her, and the delivery man was walking back towards his box truck. An envelope was taped to one of the boxes and she snatched it up ripping it open.

"What is it, Lins?" Gohan asked, leaning his face away from Paige.

She shook her head and pulled out a letter as Jenny joined her and started to pull the boxes into the house.

"Hey, bitchcakes," Lindsey read aloud. "I thought you guys would appreciate these. The fourth is next week and I don't know how easy it is for you to buy them in Japan. Everyone here is doing fine. Sorry I can't spend the fourth with you all this year, but you better have a party and remember me. Love, Sabriena. P.S. Sophie says 'Fuck you.'"

"Sabriena?" Gohan asked as Trunks tromped down the stairs, his face clean shaven again and his hair brushed and pulled back in a low ponytail.

"What is it?" Trunks asked.

Jenny had just ripped open the first box. "FIREWORKS!" she exclaimed gleefully.

"Oh, sweet!" Lindsey grinned and peered into the box. "Damn, they spent a lot of money on these."

"Fireworks?" Piccolo asked. "What for?"

"The fourth of July," Jenny grinned. "America's Independence Day!"

"Independence from what?' Piccolo asked. He'd never really bothered to learn Earth history.

"Britain," Gohan answered. "Which explains the P.S. from Sophie."

"Oh yeah, she pretends to hate Americans every fourth of July," Jenny said, pulling fireworks from the box. "It's sort of a running joke."

"Except most people do hate Americans," Gohan snickered.

"Shut up, or I'll set these off in the house," Lindsey threatened.

"So, we having a big party, then?" Jenny grinned.

"Of course!" Lindsey cried.

"Is that okay, Gohan?" Jenny asked.

"Sure," he smiled. "Sounds fun."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Lindsey and Jenny squealed together.

"So, what? You basically celebrate your independence by setting off miniature bombs?" Trunks asked, picking up a firework and reading the side of its label.

"Yup," Lindsey answered. "Eat barbeque, get drunk, and blow shit up. Doesn't get any more American than that."

"Murica," Jenny giggled.


	9. Step It Up

Jenny helped Lindsey stash the fireworks away in the downstairs office, then they sat in the middle of the living room floor and began to plan the party.

"Okay, so we're inviting everyone, of course," Jenny said, scratching names down into a notebook so she wouldn't forget anyone.

"Everyone except Catie," Lindsey said darkly.

"Now, Lindsey, that's not fair," Jenny stated. "Catie's American too, and she's our friend. She's coming to the party."

"Noooo she's not," Lindsey answered, staring at her own notebook.

Jenny flopped her pen down onto the paper. "Then I'm not coming if she's not invited."

Lindsey's head jerked up. "But you have to come!"

Jenny crossed her arms. "Not unless Catie comes."

Lindsey huffed. "Fiiiine. Just keep her away from me."

"Deal," Jenny said, picking up her pen again and writing more names.

"What do you guys want to eat that day?" Lindsey asked. "You wanna, like, roast hotdogs and marshmallows?"

"How about a fish fry?" Gohan asked.

Lindsey was about to protest, but Jenny cried, "Oh! That sounds good!" so Lindsey made a menu for fish, but she threw in a package of hotdogs for herself.

They planned their menu and made sure they had all the phone numbers they needed. Lindsey was still grumbling about Catie as she picked up Paige and set her in her lap, pulling Paige's pink curls up into adorable pigtails.

"Wow, Gohan," Dende said. "You and Lindsey are really good with Paige. When are you two going to have one?"

"Agh!" Lindsey growled and promptly handed Paige back to Jenny. "Why is everyone so hung up on that?"

Dende blinked at her. "I'm sorry! Did I say something wrong?"

Jenny cast a concerned eye at Lindsey and grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her into the kitchen before she could answer Dende. Jenny glanced around the kitchen, spied the pantry and yanked Lindsey inside it.

"Um, why are we in my pantry?" Lindsey asked.

"Why are you being such a bitch today?" Jenny demanded.

Lindsey blinked at her. "Huh?"

"You've done nothing but rip on Catie and now you snapped at Dende. He didn't deserve that! What the hell's your problem?"

Lindsey turned her nose up. "Those pregnancy hormones must have your brain scrambled. There's nothing wrong with me."

Jenny narrowed her eyes. "There's something up your ass and I wanna know what it is. You can't hide things from me very well and you know it."

Lindsey fixed Jenny with a fierce stare. "You wanna know what my problem is? I can't do anything around this goddamn house without someone getting up my ass about making babies."

Jenny shook her head in disbelief. "What?"

"Goku mainly," Lindsey huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "We got into it the other night about it."

"I thought he was joking that one day about you and Gohan having a baby," Jenny said.

"No."

"So you don't want one?" Jenny asked. "Like, not even some day way down the road?"

"I…" Lindsey started, but the pantry door creaked open and Trunks jumped, surprised to see them there.

"NO BOYS ALLOWED!" Jenny shouted and slammed the door in his face.

"I just wanted a snack," Trunks protested.

Jenny grabbed a bag of chips, yanked the door open, threw the bag at his face, and slammed the door again.

"Thank you!" he called and they could hear the crunching of the bag being ripped open and his footsteps fading away.

"Now, where were we?" Jenny asked.

"Discussing everyone else's opinions of how I should use my uterus," Lindsey grumbled.

"Ah, yes," Jenny said. "Continue."

"I don't want a baby," Lindsey said. "Don't get me wrong, I adore Paige. But I just don't…" she trailed off, biting her lip. "I don't want one."

"You sure?" Jenny asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Lindsey nodded.

"What about Gohan?" Jenny asked.

Lindsey sighed. "It's a conversation he keeps trying to bring up and I keep avoiding it."

"Maybe it's time you had that conversation," Jenny said.

"But what if he attacks me in a moment of weakness and I agree to it?" Lindsey wailed.

Jenny couldn't help but laugh. "I think the word 'attack' is a bit much."

Lindsey's eyes went wide. "You don't know Gohan. If he wants something, he can use every angle possible to make his point. I swear he should be a lawyer."

Jenny snickered again and shook her head.

"What's it like?" Lindsey asked softly.

"What's what like?" Jenny asked, trying to compose herself.

"You know, being pregnant? Being a mom?"

Jenny smiled. "It's the greatest thing in the world. To look at Paige and just think, 'I made that.' You know? She's one little person who's part of me and part of Piccolo. It's really amazing when you just stop and think about it. When I was pregnant with her, and I could feel her kick and roll inside me, it was so exciting! I was terrified, too, of course, but just knowing that this little tiny person was growing inside me, _his_ child was growing inside me… I can't explain it. And he's so into it this time," she grinned. "He was a nervous wreck the last time, but you should see him. He talks to my belly at night and kisses it, telling the baby he loves him or her. It's all so new and exciting and… oh, I wouldn't trade a minute of it." She paused thoughtfully. "Well, maybe the morning sickness."

Lindsey snorted softly and smiled. "It sounds like you're really happy."

Jenny nodded. "I am."

"But what about the war?" Lindsey asked. "Don't you worry about that?"

"Of course I worry about that," Jenny answered. "Why do you think I'm beating the hell out of myself, training with Vegeta? You think I don't know the risks I'm taking, doing all this training while I'm pregnant?"

"You don't have to get defensive," Lindsey said. "I was just wondering how you can mentally handle being pregnant and knowing that that's coming."

"Being pregnant is driving me to prepare for this," Jenny answered. "I will _not_ lose a child again. I've gone through that pain once. I can't handle it."

Lindsey nodded. "I can't imagine what that was like for you."

"I hope you never have to find out," Jenny answered.

Lindsey shook her head. "Nope. Not gonna happen. I'm not taking that chance."

Jenny narrowed her eyes. "That's why you don't want one, isn't it?"

Lindsey turned her face away.

"You're afraid of Sigourney's followers using your baby against you!" Jenny accused.

"I'm not saying that," Lindsey answered, crossing her arms. "But could you blame me if I said that was part of the reason?"

"I guess not," Jenny sighed. "But Piccolo and Paige are what drives me to fight so hard. To try to get better. Stronger. I will not sit by and let them hurt my loved ones anymore. They've done enough damage as it is. They killed Sabriena. They stole Paige. They forced Trunks to do what he did. They killed Gohan."

"Catie killed Gohan."

"GIVE IT A REST!" Jenny snapped. "Either way, it wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for them!" She calmed herself for a minute. "All I'm saying is, they have caused us WAY too much heartache. I will not rest until I know I have done everything possible to protect us all and destroy them for good."

Lindsey nodded. "I think you're right, Jenny." She drew a deep breath. "I think it's time I stepped up my training. I'm calling Goku first thing in the morning."

"Good," Jenny said. "And maybe one day you'll feel safe enough to have a baby of your own."

Lindsey snorted again and shook her head as Jenny opened the pantry door and they returned to the living room.

* * *

Lindsey wasn't the only one upping her training sessions. Leelee had pestered Seventeen again and again to teach her to fly.

"You already know how to fly," he answered simply. "You have a weird way of doing it, but it works."

"I want to know the right way!" Leelee insisted, sitting beside him on the couch and bouncing in her seat.

Seventeen had slouched down into the cushions of his dark blue couch to stare at the TV across the room. He held the remote in his hand and clicked it in a steady rhythm, watching the blips of channels with little interest. Finally he tossed the remote on the coffee table and sat up, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Oh, all right. But what do I get in return?" he asked.

Leelee sat and thought for a moment. "Hmmm," she said, looking up at the ceiling, a finger pressed to her chin. "What would Seventeen like in return for teaching me to fly?"

He fixed her with an amused smile as she feigned wondering what would make him happy.

"I'll let you tie me up," she grinned.

"Works for me!" he cried happily, jumping up from the couch.

"But I want to spar with you, too," Leelee insisted.

"Oh, you are a masochist," he teased.

She shrugged. "Come on, you perv. Let's go."

She grabbed his hand and headed for the door, while he tried to pull her towards the bedroom.

"Seventeeeeeeeeeen," she whined.

"Leeleeeeee," he mimicked.

"Flying first!" she insisted.

"But that could take days!" he protested.

"Well then you'd better get to work, cause you're not getting any until I can fly."

Seventeen's shoulders slumped and he allowed her to drag him outside.

* * *

"Is too big for you."

Sabriena slammed her high-heeled foot against the cement floor. "No, it's not!" she argued. "And I want two of them!"

The dark-haired Russian stared calmly down his nose at her. "You crazy if think you one-hand fifty caliber."

She wanted to strangle Kirill and scream at him that his English sucked.

"Why you need one that big anyway?" the big blond asked, sliding the protective glasses over his blue eyes.

"I just do," she answered. They knew enough about her friends in Japan as it was – about the Saiyans, the Androids… They didn't need to know about her powers or the battle she'd fought in that castle to try to bring them back from the dead. And they certainly didn't need to know about the dragonballs. She shuddered at the thought of that kind of power in their hands. She'd had a hard enough time coming up with a lie about how they were resurrected at all. Finally she'd decided to tell them that they had been knocked unconscious in the tornado and it had to be a coincidence that they all dreamed about the afterlife.

While the Fate Urdh had restored life to everyone who had passed before their time and had removed the flood waters from the rains, she didn't fix everything. Perhaps that was part of the lessons people were supposed to learn. The warehouse was still destroyed when they woke up and Yelena was still in the hospital.

The house was quickly being rebuilt, one section at a time, and this time it included a basement. A new indoor range had been built in this new basement, which was where Sabriena currently stood, hands on her hips, glaring demandingly at Kirill as Kolya reloaded the high capacity magazine for his .45 Springfield. "Sixteen rounds," he'd grinned.

Normally, she would have gone to Yorgi to make a request, but he was in a dangerous mood these days because of Yelena's injuries. The two of them spent most of their time in Yorgi's newly built suite with physical therapists coming and going, teaching Yelena how to walk again with her new prosthetic leg. And besides, while Yorgi handled nearly all other decisions in the house, Kirill was the weapons specialist and Yorgi would have ultimately left the decision to him anyway.

Sabriena was furious with Loki. The coward hadn't even tried to fight her back. And try as she might, she couldn't forget what they'd done to her friends and her home by conjuring those storms. She could still see, in vivid detail, the corpses of her friends as she'd dug through the rubble, trying to save them. No, Sigourney's followers were not getting off the hook that easily. And since there was no one here to spar with that was remotely strong enough to give her a challenge, not even Kolya or Viktor, she'd spent days trying to work out in her head what she could do to improve their odds in the upcoming battle. Weapons were the only thing she hadn't seen anyone try and in the first battle against Sigourney, a spear had served Sabriena well. Perhaps they were going about this wrong. She'd certainly prefer to stand at a safe distance and pop off rounds at the enemies instead of engaging them in hand-to-hand combat. Hell, she could do that in high-heels and not even risk messing up her manicure.

"No," Kirill said, shaking his head. "You not even rack the slide. Too big."

Sabriena didn't like being told no. She stared at the creepy sniper for a moment, debating. There was one of two ways she could get her way – beat the crap out of him or flirt with him. She suspected half the reason he was arguing with her right now was simply to have her attention for the moment. That was okay. She could play that game.

She stepped closer to him, pressing her self against his chest, sliding her arms around his skinny waist. "But Kirill," she whined, batting her eyes. Her hands slid to the back of his belt, over the hard piece of metal pressed into the small of his back.

Kirill swallowed as he stared down at her.

Her eyes flashed and in an instant, she flung herself away from him, triumphantly holding his prized pistol in her hand.

Kirill snarled something in Russian and she pulled the protective coverings over her ears and turned towards the target downrange. She pinched the slide and pulled it back, letting it go with a sharp snap of metal as Kirill scowled. The pistol was huge in her hand, but she brought it up to eyelevel, wrapping the fingers of her left hand over the right. Kolya stopped what he was doing to watch.

She pressed forward with her right arm and pulled back with her left, lining up the sights on the center of the silhouette target. She drew a deep breath, set her finger on the trigger, exhaled slowly and squeezed.

The recoil slammed against the heel of her hand, jarring her shoulders, but she held onto it and smiled at the big hole through the center of the target's chest. She held the pistol out again, firing several more shots until the slide locked back and remained open.

Kolya shouted his encouragement as Kirill pressed the button to bring the paper target up to the ledge.

"I bet I got a good grouping on that one," Sabriena grinned, setting the pistol down and pulling the ear coverings off.

Kirill frowned at the paper. "You miss this two."

Two holes had pierced the upper right side of the paper, but the rest were concentrated in the center of the target.

"I want two of these," she stated firmly, holding up the expensive handgun. "Rose gold plated with mother-of-pearl handles. You got that? And I want them by tomorrow." She set the gun back down and swished away to the basement stairs, heading up to check on the construction of the rest of the house.

"She pull people out of ruined building, now she think she in charge," Kirill muttered.

"She more in charge than you think," Kolya snickered as he slammed the magazine into the butt of his gun. Yorgi had certainly been paying her more attention after Yelena informed him that it was Sabriena who had saved her life. "I not believe she could sling-shot the slide on that gun."

Kirill frowned again. Where was he going to get two Desert Eagles with those specs in that short of an amount of time? He picked up his own and dropped the magazine to fill it.

"She's lucky she's so hot," Kirill said to Kolya in Russian. "No one would put up with her if she wasn't."

Kolya was glad Kirill was speaking their native language. Even he had a hard time understanding the sniper's English.

"Is that why everyone puts up with me?" Kolya grinned.

Kirill rolled his eyes as Kolya aimed his gun downrange again. "Idiot," Kirill muttered.


	10. Selfish

The next few days seemed to fly by as Lindsey prepared her house for the big party. Not only were the Z-Fighters invited, but practically everyone else they knew as well. Bulma's parents, Chichi's father, Master Roshi and Oolong, even Dende and Mr. Popo were planning on attending the festivities at Jenny's request.

Lindsey busied herself with cleaning the house and prepping the food, while Trunks and Gohan built a small platform way out at the edge of the yard to set the fireworks on. Sabriena had truly spared no expense in treating her friends; some of the fireworks she sent were huge.

Trunks was grateful once again to have something to keep him busy. Intelligent as they were, he and Gohan had no problems designing the platform they intended to build, but actual construction of it was rather problematic.

"I'm gonna lose a finger with this thing, I just know it," Trunks said, warily eyeing the power saw.

They wasted way more lumber than they should have and more than one wrestling match between the two broke out over the proper use of L-brackets and carriage bolts. Lindsey wanted to correct them on more than one occasion, but was far too amused and sat under the sycamore tree to watch their struggle and kept her mouth firmly closed.

Between times of working on decorating the house and preparing the yard, the three of them spent their time training with Goku. Lindsey was more than grateful that no more baby talk had come up in conversation. In fact, she and Goku were acting like the argument had never happened at all.

That's why it took her by surprise when Gohan broached the subject the night before the party. They were in the master bathroom at the double sink, Gohan brushing his teeth and Lindsey combing her hair into a ponytail. She slid open a drawer and withdrew a round, pink plastic container, popped it open and pressed a small pill through the back. She filled a water glass sitting next to the sink and swallowed the pill down.

Gohan sighed.

"Something wrong, honey?" she asked.

Gohan spat in the sink and rinsed his mouth. "Nah. Don't worry about it."

"Tell me."

He wiped his face with a hand towel and returned it to the rack, staring at his reflection in the big mirror for a minute. "I just… I dunno…"

"What?" she asked, concern on her face.

"I wish you'd stop taking those," he said.

Lindsey's breath caught in her chest. "Gohan…"

"I know, I know," he said leaving the bathroom as she followed him. "You don't want kids. I get it. I just…"

"Just what?" she asked, yanking back the dark comforter on their bed.

"Well," he said, taking a deep breath and looking her in the eye. "I do."

"You want kids," she said. "You really, honest to God, want to reproduce with _me_?"

"Yes," he said emphatically. "And I don't understand why you don't. What? You don't think I'd be a good father?"

That question caught her completely off guard. "You'd be a wonderful father. I've seen you with Paige. You're amazing."

"And so are you," he answered.

"Paige isn't mine," Lindsey insisted. "I can give her back to her mother when she cries!"

"I just… I don't understand why you won't give me this one thing," he said, frustration rising in his voice. He was leaning on his side of the bed with his palms, staring hard at her. "After everything I've done for you, you can't do this for me?"

"This is a pretty big thing you're asking," she shot back. "This is a lifetime commitment!"

"Yeah," Gohan nodded, his eyebrows drawing down towards his nose. "That's what we are. A lifetime commitment. You scared of that too?"

"No," Lindsey answered. "But being part of someone's life and being responsible for someone's life are two completely different things!"

"You're so selfish," he growled.

She couldn't argue that. She was selfish. She knew that. But what hurt her, what he didn't see, was that in that moment, she was trying to be selfless. She didn't know how to explain that to him and still maintain her standpoint on the matter. She couldn't give him the ammo to sway her mind. It would be too hard for her to hold her ground at that point. So she pressed her lips together and shot him a look that said, "Yeah. So?"

"You don't even care how I feel about this, do you?" he asked.

"Not really," she answered, shaking her head. "It's my body and I am not going to use it to make babies. Deal with it."

"Then why did you lead me on?" he asked, his voice hurt and angry. "I asked you months ago and you said we could have one someday."

"I didn't think you were serious!" she snapped.

"Why on earth would I say something like that if I didn't mean it?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" She angrily flopped into bed, crossing her arms across her chest, and turned her back to him.

"This isn't what I had in mind," Gohan muttered, gathering up his pillow and a throw from the chair in the corner of the room.

"What do you mean?" she asked, sitting up.

"I mean, I thought we were going to build a family together," he answered.

"We have a family," she said. "We have your parents and Goten, Jenny, Piccolo, Paige, Trunks… What more could you need?"

"That's not a _real_ family, Lindsey," Gohan answered, standing in the middle of the room with his pillow and throw blanket. "And I'm sorry if that's what you really believe a family is. I know you were brought up different than I was, but you should understand what a real family is like. You've been around mine long enough to figure it out."

"What are you doing?" she asked exasperatedly, shaking her head at the pillow in his hand.

"I'm sleeping on the couch," he answered. "I'm too angry with you to lay next to you all night." He paused for a moment. "I just can't believe you don't want to have kids! Ever!"

"Well, maybe that's something you should've thought about before you married me!" she snapped.

"Yeah," Gohan said, nodding his head. "Maybe I should have." And with that, he left the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Lindsey stared at the bedroom door in shock. Ouch. Angry tears welled up in her eyes and she shouted, "Fine! Sleep on the couch, asshole!" and threw her pillow against the closed door. She crossed her arms tightly against her chest, pouting. She went to lay back on the bed, realized she had no pillow and muttered, "dammit," as she got out of bed and picked it up. She slammed it down on the bed, punching it, then flopped into bed to lay there, pissed off at the whole world, and stare a the wall for the next hour before she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Gohan was angrily making himself a bed on the couch, muttering about how selfish and stubborn his wife was, when his phone went off in the kitchen. He sighed and tromped through the darkened house and swiped it off the counter. A quick glance at the screen showed Catie's name and picture.

"Yeah?" he asked, pressing the phone against his ear.

"Hey, Gohan, I hope I'm not calling at a bad time," Catie said.

He drew a deep breath, trying to calm his anger and said, "Nah, you're okay. You need something?"

"I – I was just going to let you know I'm not coming to the party tomorrow."

"Why not?" Gohan asked, his voice softening.

"Well, it's at your house and I know Lindsey doesn't want me there," Catie said.

"Lindsey doesn't want a lot of things that I want," Gohan muttered.

There was a silence on Catie's end of the phone for a moment before she asked, "You guys okay?"

He stared at the kitchen island and sighed. "Yeah, we're okay. Forget I said anything. Look, please come to the party tomorrow," he said. "Jenny really wants you to be there and so do I. Everyone wants you there."

"Is you-know-who coming?"

"Trunks?" Gohan asked. "Yeah, he'll be here."

Catie hesitated. "I really don't think I should go."

"Just ignore him if you don't want to be around him," Gohan said. He was becoming rather irritated with everyone at the moment. "All three of you need to knock this shit off. It's wearing me out."

"Excuse me?" Catie hissed. "I don't have to knock anything off. You have no idea what he did!"

"Yes, I do, Catie," Gohan retorted. "And I think you need to cut him some slack."

"You're full of shit," she stated. "He did more than kiss that girl."

"Yeah, he slept with her. He made a mistake. He told me so himself," Gohan said. It was half-true. Lindsey had actually told him, but Trunks was there, and Gohan was so angry and tired, he figured it was close enough to the truth.

"He… He told you?"

"Yes. And it's none of my business. Come to the party tomorrow. Ignore the people you don't want to talk to, but come anyway," Gohan ordered. "I have to go. I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Okay, Gohan," Catie said in an apologetic tone. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I'm sorry. I'll be there."

"Good," Gohan stated, then softened his voice, "And it's not you I'm mad at, okay? Now get some sleep. We'll see you tomorrow."

He casually tossed the cell phone back on the counter and returned to the living room, glancing up the stairs, wishing strongly that the conversation had gone differently. He'd been trying to work up to the subject ever since his camping trip. Actually, that was just about all he'd thought about on his trip. He'd expected her to be reluctant at worst, enthusiastic about it at best. He hadn't expected outright refusal. He couldn't describe how disappointed he felt just then. He shook his head and got into his makeshift bed on the couch and tried to go to sleep.

* * *

Trunks was the first to wake up the next morning, surprised at his own mood. He was feeling excited about the festivities that evening, and he hoped that perhaps he would get a chance to talk to Catie. Maybe two weeks of being apart would have calmed her temper enough so that he could at least speak to her and apologize again.

What Trunks wasn't prepared for was the silent, awkward breakfast with Lindsey and Gohan. They refused to speak to one another and kept huffing and sighing in irritated ways as they quickly ate their cereal. Gohan pushed his bowl away and got to his feet, stating that he was going outside to wait for his father to show up for their morning training session.

Trunks watched him go, then turned to Lindsey as soon as he heard the front door shut.

"You guys okay?"

"Mind your business, Trunks," she said dully, picking up her bowl and Gohan's and placing them in the sink. She left the kitchen and went to sit on the bottom stair until she could feel Goku's energy approach.

"You know," Trunks said, walking into the living room and slicking his hair back into a ponytail, "I told you my problems. I can listen to yours, if you want me to."

She shook her head. "Not on this one."

"Okay," Trunks said, heading out the front door. "Suit yourself."

Goku arrived moments later. "Hey guys!" he greeted them cheerily.

"Hi Goku," Trunks said in an equally happy tone. He couldn't help it. The more he thought about seeing Catie, the happier he felt.

"Hey Dad," Gohan muttered.

"Where's Lindsey?" Goku asked. "Isn't she-"

"I'm coming!" she called, shutting the door behind her.

"Atta girl," Goku grinned. "Up and at 'em early. You gotta stop staying up so late."

She ignored him. Goku was way too much of a morning person for her tastes. He'd nearly driven her nuts with it on their training sessions last winter.

"So, you guys wanna swap sparring partners today?" Goku asked, oblivious to the frosty attitude between Gohan and Lindsey. "Gohan, you can take Lindsey, Trunks with me?"

"Suits me fine," Gohan said darkly.

Lindsey narrowed her eyes and cocked her eyebrows. "Let's do this."

"You guys going first?" Trunks asked nervously.

Gohan gave a sharp nod.

"Awesome," Goku grinned and sat down in the grass.

"Ready?" Gohan asked, powering up.

"To hand you your ass," she growled, raising her own energy.

"This isn't going to end well," Trunks muttered to himself and sat down next to Goku.

Without warning, Gohan and Lindsey flew at each other, their forearms smashing together as they stared each other down.

"Don't hold back on me," she hissed at him. She was too angry with him for the things he'd said the night before.

Gohan shoved away from her, then flew at her again, driving his knee into her stomach, doubling her over, then slamming his fists into her back to send her sprawling across the yard. She jumped up and flew back at him, spinning in midair to slam her heel against his jaw.

"Nice!" Goku called.

They fought relentlessly for the better part of an hour, neither of them ready to quit or back down.

"Just give up!" Gohan shouted, throwing lightning-fast kicks and punches.

She was breathing hard, but matched his pace with her own attacks. "Never." Her hair suddenly turned to flames.

"You wanna play hardball? Fine," Gohan growled as his own hair turned to gold.

"Whoa," Goku said, sitting up straighter. "What are they doing?"

"I think they're mad at each other," Trunks said.

"This isn't a sparring match anymore," Goku said in a concerned voice. "This is a fight." He got to his feet and shouted at them, "Hey! Take a break you two!"

They ignored him as they continued to fight. Lindsey was smacking Gohan with her firewhips, he was aiming energy waves at her that scorched her clothing and left marks on her arms.

"I said take a break!" Goku ordered.

"Stay out of this!" Lindsey yelled back.

Faster than the blink of an eye, Goku was between them and shoved them away from each other so hard they both hit the ground.

"I said knock it off!" he barked.

Lindsey's hair was back to its normal red curls as she stared up at him, breathing heavily.

"What in the world's gotten into you two?" Goku demanded.

"You should know," Lindsey snapped.

"Well I don't," Goku said in a tone that matched hers. "I don't know what on earth could make the two of you fight like this. You were actually trying to hurt each other!"

"I'm outta here," Gohan growled, getting to his feet and flying off so fast he stirred up dust.

"GOHAN!" Goku shouted, but his son was gone. "Trunks, go after him."

"Sure thing," Trunks said, leaping into the air and flying off in the same direction Gohan had headed.

Goku turned to Lindsey. "Explain yourself."

She was panting angrily, her fingers twisting in the grass at her sides. "I'm so sick of arguing about children!"

Goku's eyes went wide. "What?"

Lindsey jumped to her feet and pointed at the sky. "Now he keeps bringing it up! We argued about it last night!" She turned away from Goku, pressing her lips together as the angry tears welled in her eyes again. 'I really am a crybaby,' she thought to herself.

Excitement swelled in Goku's chest and he had to fight to keep it out of his voice. "Gohan wants kids?"

"Yes," Lindsey snarled. "And I don't."

Great. Goku ran a hand over his face, trying to figure out how he was going to handle this conversation without pissing her off again. He finally settled on the most obvious question. "Why?"

"I just don't," she answered simply.

"Lindsey, there's got to be a reason," Goku said.

She turned around to face him. She wanted to lie, to tell him she just didn't want them, but she knew he wasn't going to accept that answer.

"Goku, a war is coming," she answered. "I can't risk being pregnant during that."

"Jenny is," Goku countered.

"That wasn't exactly planned," she said. "And I'm not Jenny."

"We could have up to three years before they show up," Goku said. "You could have a baby before that."

"And what?" Lindsey asked. "What happens if Gohan or I am killed in battle? Leave a baby here without a mother or a father? NO! I won't do that to a child. I know what that's like."

Goku thought he was starting to understand. "You can't live your life in fear, Lindsey. If you do that, there's no point in living in the first place."

She was staring at the ground, a muscle working in her jaw. "It's too risky."

"It always is," Goku said. "That doesn't mean you just shut yourself off from life."

The tears were really burning in her eyes now and she blinked harshly, trying to will them away.

"I wouldn't be a good mother," she muttered.

"Now why would you say something like that?"

She met his eyes. "Because it's true and you know it. I'm selfish. I'm immature. I can't be a role-model for some kid whose entire world depends on me! I'm not ready for that. I can't do it. I just can't."

"Lindsey…"

"I know you want grandchildren, Goku," Lindsey said. "But I can't give you that. I won't do that to a child. I'll not pass this on to an innocent baby." The tears were starting to flow and she couldn't stop them, so she just stared at the ground.

"Pass what on?" he asked. He was really lost now.

"This!" she cried, waving her arms around her body. "These weird powers! I got them from my mother! I know I'll pass it on! They took Paige away from Jenny for that! And may I remind you, I'm an addict? You know that's hereditary, right? You really want that for a child?"

"Is that what this is all about?" Goku asked. "You're afraid of passing something on to someone?"

She bit her lip and nodded. "You saw what that did to Gohan. Can you image twenty years down the road if he had to deal with it again? With his own child?!"

"You're not being selfish," Goku said slowly, realization hitting him. "You want children."

Lindsey wrapped her arms around herself and nodded.

"Lindsey, I didn't realize…" his voice trailed off as he walked to her. "I'm sorry."

A sob racked her shoulders. "I can't tell Gohan that because he'd talk me into it if he knew I wanted them too. I won't be a good mother like Jenny. I don't want to bring a child into this world who may be a target for the enemy, or who ends up orphaned, or an addict like me."

"You don't know for sure that any of those things will happen," he said, setting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"But they could," Lindsey sobbed.

"You focus too much on the what-ifs in life," he stated. "You can't live your life like that. There's still a lot of good in this world. You have to believe in that. Won't you regret it if one day you look back and realize what you gave up because you were afraid?"

She sniffled and pressed her lips together. "I don't know." Her bottom lip trembled as she watched a butterfly float lazily by on the warm summer air. Somewhere, deep down in her most hidden dreams, she'd thought that if she ever had a daughter she'd like to decorate a nursery in butterflies.

"I can't make this decision for you," Goku said. "But I think you should reconsider. Or at least explain to Gohan why you feel the way you do. He doesn't understand right now. That's why he's so angry with you. If you told him, at least he would see that you have a real reason."

She drew a shaking breath. "All right."

"Okay," Goku smiled. "Let's call it a day on the training. I think you've got too much on your mind right now."

She nodded.

"I'll see you guys at the party this evening," he said as he rose into the air. "You make sure and have that talk with Gohan before everyone starts showing up."

"I will," she promised.

He waved to her, then bolted across the sky towards his home on the other side of the mountain.


	11. You Win

Lindsey was sitting on the back porch, smoking a cigarette, when Trunks dropped to the yard. He trotted up the stairs and sat next to her.

"Hey, assbutt," she muttered.

"Assbutt, huh?" he laughed. "What was that Sabriena called you? Bitchcakes? Yeah. I think I'll use that one. Hey, bitchcakes."

She smirked. "We officially have nicknames now."

He elbowed her side. "You ready to talk yet?"

"To Gohan," she answered, lighting another cigarette off the butt of the old one.

"Chain smoker," he accused.

She blew the smoke at him.

He swatted at the smoke and pretended to gasp for air.

"Did you figure out where Gohan went?"

"Yeah, he was heading for the Lookout. I turned around and came back. I thought I'd give him some space."

Lindsey stared at the pack of cigarettes in her hand and sighed.

"Come on," Trunks said, slapping a hand on her knee. "We gotta finish mowing before everyone gets here."

"It's too hot," she whined.

"Then we can have a water fight when we're done," Trunks grinned.

"Okay, deal," she agreed and got to her feet, leaping off the deck. "But I get the riding mower!"

"Hey, no fair!" Trunks shouted, chasing her out into the yard.

* * *

"She's just so damn stubborn!" Gohan shouted. "After everything I've put up with, you'd think she could do this one thing for me! But noooooooo. No, it always has to be Lindsey's way."

"She's always been spoiled Gohan, you know that," Piccolo said, his arms crossed as he listened to Gohan's rant. "That's not going to change over night."

Gohan wiped sweat from under his eyes. "I don't even want to be around her right now."

"You need a cold drink," Jenny said, handing Paige to Piccolo and retreating inside the Lookout.

"Let's get out of the sun," Piccolo suggested and headed for an awning.

Gohan followed him, still voicing his frustration. "It's just not fair."

"You can't force her into something like that, Gohan," Piccolo said. Paige was wriggling in his arms, reaching for Gohan with her little hands.

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" she cried, opening and closing her fingers.

Piccolo blinked at his daughter. "I think she wants you," he said and handed Paige to Gohan.

She smiled and snuggled into Gohan's neck as he held her. A knot formed in his throat as he wondered vaguely what it would be like to hold his own child. 'Something I'll never get to find out, I guess,' he thought to himself. He hugged the little Namek as she cooed and giggled.

"Here ya go, hon," Jenny said, handing a cold glass of tea to Piccolo. She offered one to Gohan, who gratefully accepted it.

"What am I supposed to do, guys?" Gohan asked.

Jenny and Piccolo looked at each other. Jenny slowly turned back to Gohan. "I don't know if there's anything you can do, honey. I tried to talk to her the other day. She won't hear it. She's scared."

"Scared of what?" Gohan asked.

"The war," Jenny answered. "Surely she told you that?"

"She told me she just flat out doesn't want them," he stated.

Jenny narrowed her eyes slightly and cocked her head. "Well then she's lying to one of us."

"Great," Gohan growled. "More lies."

"I don't mean it like that," Jenny corrected him. "Maybe she's afraid to tell you that."

"What does the war have to do with it?" Gohan asked.

"May I remind you what happened with Paige?" Jenny asked. "She doesn't want to go through that."

"That won't happen," Gohan said. "Besides, our baby would only be a quarter Saiyan. I don't think they'd be that interested."

"Perhaps not, but I wouldn't put it past them to try it again, just to lure you into a trap," Piccolo said.

"But you guys are having another one!" Gohan pointed out.

Jenny didn't really know what to say to him. This wasn't something anyone else could fix for them. He and Lindsey would have to work this out on their own.

"Can't you try to talk some sense into her for me, Jenny?" Gohan asked. "Please?"

"Well…" Jenny said, feeling uncertain.

"Please?"

"Oh, all right," Jenny sighed. "I'll see if I can get a word in with her this afternoon at the party."

Gohan smiled. "Thanks."

He finished his tea while still holding Paige, trying to get his emotions in check. It wasn't working very well. The longer he held Paige, the more unfair the whole situation seemed. He apologized to Jenny and Piccolo for showing up angry and unannounced, then handed Paige back to Jenny and left for home, saying he had yard work to do and that he'd see them later that day.

Gohan had always imagined that he'd have a family of his own one day. Even when he was little he'd thought about it. He hadn't really expected to start a family when he was this young, he was only nineteen after all, but then again, he couldn't see a good reason to wait. He loved his wife dearly. He knew she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with from that first date. Why didn't she want to have kids with him? The excuse about the coming war seemed lame to him. There was always some new threat coming to the earth; it was nothing new to him. He'd been dealing with things like that since he was a little boy. In fact, he thought it would be rather odd for there to not be a new enemy coming to them or an old one seeking revenge. No, he thought Lindsey's reason of just not wanting children was much more likely. She was just being the same spoiled, stubborn person she'd always been.

He landed in the freshly mowed grass in front of his house. He could hear Trunks running the weedeater somewhere around back; its loud motor droned on as weeds snapped and cracked from its line. He tromped up the porch stairs and into the cool interior of his house.

Lindsey was sitting on the couch, her knees drawn up to her chest in those tiny cut-off shorts and the white crochet top that drove Gohan nuts. He sighed. If she thought that was going to make up to him, she was sadly mistaken. He was in no mood.

"Hi," he said flatly.

She tossed something at him and he caught it in one hand. It was a small, blue box. He held it up questioningly. "What do I want with your cigarettes?" he asked in a disgusted tone.

She drew a deep breath and tossed something else at him. It rattled through the air and he caught it in his other hand. It was a small, round, pink container. His eyebrows furrowed as he recognized it. "Birth control. What? You gonna make me start taking these just to be on the safe side?"

She dropped her bare feet to the floor. "Throw them away."

Gohan's breath caught in his throat. "What?"

"Throw them away," she repeated.

"You – You mean…"

She nodded. "Let's go for it."

Gohan roared in delight as he swept his wife off the couch, hugging her tightly. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"But there are conditions," she said.

He let go of her, his eyes dancing. "Okay. Tell me."

"You _will _help change diapers. You _will _take turns with three a.m. feedings. And I get at least one night a week out with the girls," Lindsey stated.

"One night a week?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit much? How about once a month?"

"Three nights a month."

"Two."

She huffed. "Deal."

Gohan was grinning from ear to ear. "Anything else?"

"We don't tell a soul what we're doing," she said, pressing a finger against his chest. "I am not going to listen to it from your father. Or your mother, for that matter." She shuddered at what Chichi's reaction would be.

"Not a soul," he grinned.

"And of course you realize that twins run in my family. My _immediate _family, right?"

He blinked at her. "They do?"

"Two sets of them," Lindsey said. "Blake and Bryson. And my sisters."

"I didn't realize your sisters were twins," Gohan said thoughtfully. "They don't look the same."

"Fraternal twins. I could'a sworn I told you that." Lindsey said. "Blake and Bryson are identical."

"Wow," Gohan breathed. "Twins." His face split in a big grin again. "That would be awesome!"

She stared at him in disbelief. "You are a glutton for punishment."

He chuckled at her as she shuddered at the thought.

"And I get to be as bitchy and whiney and mean as I want to be," she stated. "If I want take-out at two in the morning, you're going to get it for me. And if my feet swell up, you're going to rub them and tell me I'm still beautiful, even if you don't mean it. And I plan on getting really, really fat. Just so you know."

"You're always beautiful to me," he smiled.

"Fucking liar," she growled, crossing her arms.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Couldn't you be at least a little excited about this?"

She gave him a mean look, but couldn't maintain it for very long. She sighed and gave him a genuine smile. "Maybe just a little."

He pulled her closer. "We could start right now," he teased in a low, seductive voice.

"Nope," Lindsey said. "People are going to show up in about two hours. That doesn't give us nearly long enough. You'll have to wait until later tonight." She winked at him.

"Oh, all right," he sighed.

"Now throw those things away before I change my mind," she ordered.

"Yep, yep," he grinned and hurried to the kitchen. He couldn't believe it. He didn't know what had changed her mind, but he decided not to look a gift-horse in the mouth. He stepped on the pedal of the trashcan to pop open its top. He looked at the two small packs in his hands. With much more joy than it should've given him, he tore the cigarette pack in half and dropped it in the trashcan, then crushed the small pink container of pills and threw them away as well. He brushed his hands together over the bin, smiling to himself. He paused and mentally slapped himself. 'Great,' he thought, 'now I have to think about this all day until everyone goes home.'

Gohan heaved a sigh. "Dammit."

Lindsey had sat back down on the couch and was painting her toes bright red when Gohan returned to the living room.

"See?" she grinned, wiggling her toes at him. "Red." She pointed at her skimpy crochet top, "white," and then she pointed at the tiny cut-off jeans, "blue! I'm patriotic!"

"You already had the red," he teased, ruffling her hair.

She giggled. "I didn't even think about that."

"If your eyes were blue, you could'a gone naked," he teased, sitting down next to her.

"What about the white?" she asked.

"Have you seen how pale you are? You practically glow in the dark."

She punched his shoulder repeatedly while he cringed away from her and laughed.

The front door opened and Trunks walked in, sweaty and covered in grass. "Oh yeah, that's nice," he muttered. "I'm out there working like a slave and you two are hanging out on the couch in the air conditioning."

"I'm thinking about putting in a pool," Lindsey said. "Then you can be the cabana boy."

Trunks rolled his eyes as Gohan laughed.

"Well, the yard's done," Trunks said, sitting in the recliner near the windows. "Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

"No, I think that's it," Lindsey said, screwing the lid back on the nail polish and blowing on her nails. "Now we wait until everyone shows up."

"Good," Trunks sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Wake me up when they get here."

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time guests started to arrive. Goten and Maron were running around in the yard, waving sparklers and shouting in glee. Paige was twisting in her father's arms to keep an eye on the pretty colored sparks that flew from the ends of their metal sticks.

"You guys built this, huh?" Goku asked, standing on the platform and bouncing on his toes. It felt sturdy.

"Yeah, we managed to figure it out," Trunks snickered.

"So who's shooting these things off tonight?" Goku asked.

"I figured we'd take turns," Gohan answered, setting the boxes down near the platform.

"Did you and Lindsey work things out?" Goku asked.

Gohan leaned over one of the boxes, hiding his smile from his dad. "Yeah, we're good," he said as casually as possible.

"Okay, good," Goku said, glancing up at the porch where Lindsey was laughing with Jenny.

"Whose energy is that?" Trunks asked, looking at the sky.

"Feels like Leelee," Gohan answered, straightening up and shading his eyes with one hand. "She must be training with Seventeen. She wasn't that strong before."

Sure enough, Leelee and Seventeen dropped to the back porch a few minutes later.

"I learned to fly the right way!" Leelee cried, throwing her arms in the air.

"Awesome!" Jenny grinned.

"Hey, good for you," Krillin said, leaning back against the porch bench as Seventeen climbed onto the railing next to him.

"Hey, Lins, can I use your bathroom?" Leelee asked.

"No," Lindsey answered. "I'm gonna make you pee in the yard."

"Smartass," Leelee muttered and went in the house.

"We're here!" came a voice from the corner of the house.

"Master Roshi!" Goku grinned, jumping off the platform and trotting across the yard.

"Good to see you, Goku," Oolong said.

"Come up here on the porch," Goku said, leading the way. "It's good to see you. It's been awhile."

"It's good to see all of you," the old man said, eyeing Lindsey in her skimpy shorts and Jenny in her low-cut tank top.

"Lecherous old man," Eighteen grumbled.

Lindsey really didn't like either of them, but she was determined to be a good hostess and offered each of them a cold drink.

Gohan and Trunks joined them on the porch and Gohan kissed his wife's temple. "Thanks for being nice," he whispered to her.

"Keep him away from me," she whispered back through gritted teeth.

More guests arrived soon after, with Bulma's family being the last to arrive.

"Sorry," she said, setting her purse on the table. "We ran a little late."

"That's okay," Gohan grinned. "Glad you could make it," he said, smiling at Catie.

Trunks felt his whole body seize up at the sight of Catie. She'd buzzed the left side of her hair again and left the rest to fall in loose curls to her waist. She wore a dark green top and white capris that hugged her curves. He loved those pants on her. He was just getting ready to say hi to her when Bulma spoke.

"Haven't seen you in awhile," she said, stepping into his line of sight, blocking Catie.

He chewed his lip for a second. "Hey, mom."

"May I speak to you for a minute?" she asked, but he knew it wasn't a question.

He nodded and got up from his seat, following her into the kitchen.

Chichi was there, already frying the fish in a big skillet on the stove.

"Chichi, can you give us a moment?" Bulma asked. She shot Trunks a stern look. "I need to have a word with my son."

Chichi blinked at her. "Sure, Bulma." She left the kitchen, giving Trunks an I-know-what-you-did-and-you're-gonna-get-it kind of look and shut the glass door behind her. He couldn't help but wonder at how women could say so much without ever speaking a word.

Bulma took a moment to gather her thoughts as Trunks looked guiltily at the floor. Catie or Vegeta must have told Bulma what happened. It was probably Vegeta.

"What were you thinking?" Bulma asked in a tone that was much kinder than Trunks had been expecting.

"I wasn't thinking, Mom," he answered, shaking his head sadly.

"You know, you _really _hurt her," Bulma said. "How could you do something like that?"

He looked up at his mother. "I didn't mean to, Mom! There was no thought process to it. It was like I had no control over myself. You don't understand how powerful that spell was."

Bulma pursed her lips together, considering his words. "Any idea how you're going to fix this?"

"No," Trunks answered. "But I'm going to try."

"Do you love her?"

"Of course I do!" Trunks cried in surprise. "What kind of a question is that?"

Bulma smiled. "Good. Then you do whatever it takes to win her back." She stepped closer to him and hugged him. "I love you, Trunks. It'll work out. You'll get her back."

Trunks hugged his mother tightly. "I hope you're right. I'm lost without her."

Bulma stepped back and stared into Trunks' watery eyes. "Then don't lose her. That's how you know she's the one. Don't be with someone you can live with. Be with someone you can't live without."

"I'll make it right by her," he promised. "I'll figure it out somehow."

"Of course you will," Bulma smiled. "You take after me!"

Trunks laughed as he and Bulma headed back out onto the porch to join the party.

* * *

Leelee was digging frantically in the bathroom cabinets, but couldn't find what she was looking for. She huffed and scurried down the hallway and out onto the porch. "Lindsey!" she hissed, waving her over.

Lindsey stepped closer to her and Leelee put her hand up by her mouth, whispering in her ear. "I got my period early. Do you have anything I can borrow?"

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Lindsey said. "Come on!"

"Something wrong?" Seventeen asked from his post on the porch railing.

"I, uh, just have to borrow something from Lindsey," Leelee answered, looking around at the other men who were gathered there. The girls she didn't mind talking with about this type of stuff. But the men, well…

Seventeen cocked his head to the side. "Like what?"

Leelee fixed him with an intense stare, trying to get him to read her thoughts. After a minute she huffed, "Feminine hygiene products!"

"Ohhhh," said Goku, who had been wondering what on earth she was talking about. Leelee felt her face go hot.

"YES!" Seventeen said, throwing his hands in the air.

Leelee face-palmed.

Gohan blinked at Seventeen. "You're excited about that?"

"Hell yeah," Seventeen answered. "No baby!" He wagged his eyebrows at Leelee. "And you know what else it means."

"I know what else it means," she said, still hiding behind her hand.

"Saaaaaay it," he teased.

"Blowjobs week," Leelee muttered.

"Damn right!" he laughed.

Lindsey was laughing so hard she was barely able to drag a mortified Leelee into the house with her.

"All week?" Goku asked in astonishment. "Wow! Aren't you lucky?"

"GOKU!" Chichi shouted, horrified.

"Whaaaaat?"


	12. Oolong Holds the Key

Leelee was surprised to see Lindsey waiting for her when she returned from the bathroom.

"I can find my way back out to the party, you know," Leelee smirked.

"Come with me," Lindsey grinned mischievously as she crooked her finger at Leelee and headed towards the front door.

Oh, this was going to be good. Leelee looked left and right to make sure no one had come in the house, then exaggeratedly tiptoed across the living room. "What are we doing?" Leelee whispered.

"We're gonna liven this party up," Lindsey whispered back, cracking open the front door and peering out. "The coast is clear."

Leelee started to hum the Mission Impossible theme song as they both ducked low and skirted the edge of the house to the side yard.

"Cover me," Lindsey whispered and snatched up a big plastic bucket and turned on the tap.

Leelee moved to hide Lindsey as best as she could. "Dun dun dun… dun dun dun… DUN DUN."

"Okay," Lindsey grinned, picking up the bucket again. It was now full to the brim with icy water. Sweat had already started to roll down the side of her face again from the outside heat.

Grabbing the bucket handle, Leelee helped Lindsey carefully and silently carry the bucket along the edge of the house. They carefully peered around the edge of the porch to select their target. Everyone was so engrossed in their conversations that no one noticed them.

Lindsey quickly scanned the people sitting on the benches at the edge of the porch. Catie was sitting next to Vegeta and for a moment Lindsey was tempted to drench her. But she'd rather not acknowledge Catie at all and she was honestly scared of what Vegeta would do if she got him wet. Trunks was sitting between Goku and Gohan who were talking loudly and laughing. Seventeen and Krillin were on the other edge of the porch.

Lindsey locked eyes with Leelee, then pointed. Leelee's eyes went wide, but she nodded. Keeping close to the edge of the porch, ducking down so their backs were level with it, they snuck closer to their victim.

Piccolo, who was sitting with his back against the house, noticed them and sat up a little straighter. He was just about to shout when Lindsey and Leelee popped up and dumped the entire bucket over Goku's head.

Goku roared in shock as the icy water washed over his hot skin. Gohan and Trunks scooted away from him as he held his arms out from his sides, looking at his soaked clothing. The entire party had gone silent.

"What in the world?!" Goku shouted, getting to his feet and turning around.

Lindsey and Leelee were laughing so hard, they could barely breathe.

"Oh, it's on now," Goku said in a low voice.

"RUN!" Lindsey screamed. "LEELEE RUN!"

Both girls tore off across the yard, screaming bloody murder as Goku jumped the edge of he porch and grabbed up the bucket, shouting at them. He gave chase, swinging the bucket back and launched it at Lindsey's feet. The handle wrapped around her ankle, tripping her so that she fell, face-first, on the hard ground.

"LEELEE!" Lindsey cried. "GO! SAVE YOURSELF!"

Leelee, who was skinnier and longer legged than Lindsey was already a good distance ahead. She turned just in time to see Goku half-fall over Lindsey and grab her, tickling her ribs.

"I will not let my sister fall in combat!" Leelee shouted, running back to them and pulling the bucket from Lindsey's leg where she promptly began to whack Goku with it as Lindsey screamed and giggled.

"Let her go! Let her go!" Leelee yelled.

"Oh my god," Gohan breathed.

"They are in soooo much trouble," Trunks said, watching the fray in the yard.

Jenny's eyes flashed blue as she looked at Trunks. "You look a little hot," she said eerily, tipping her head to the side.

"Jenny, don't," Trunks said, holding up his hands.

It was too late. Jenny threw a blast of water at him so hard it knocked him backwards off the porch. He jumped up, sopping wet and yelled, "JENNY!"

"Hold her," Jenny giggled, plopping Paige in Piccolo's lap again and ran off the porch.

Leelee had refilled the bucket and was carrying it across the yard when Jenny slammed into her.

"Oops!" Jenny giggled as some of the water slopped out onto their feet.

"Gotcha!" Trunks yelled, grabbing the bucket and throwing the remaining water over both of the girls.

"JENNY!" Lindsey screamed, still trying to fight off her father-in-law who was absolutely relentless in his tickling. "HELP ME!"

"She can't save you!" Goku laughed.

Jenny held her hand out towards them, her hair turning an oceany blue, and Goku paused. "Oh hell."

With a yell, Jenny unleashed a wave of water that was a bit bigger than she intended. It washed over Lindsey and Goku, sweeping them several feet across the yard.

Goku sat up in the squishy, wet grass, catching his breath. "I think I got water up my nose."

Lindsey was laying flat on her back, absolutely drenched, laughing like a maniac. Goku started laughing too. He rolled over and reached out to tap her arm. "Hey. Hey. Let's go get Chichi."

"I don't have a death wish!" Lindsey whispered back.

"Okay, you get Gohan, I'll get Chichi."

Lindsey nodded and let Goku pull her to her feet. They skirted the ongoing squabble between Leelee, Jenny and Trunks, and trotted up on the porch.

"Hi, baby!" Lindsey grinned flopping into Gohan's lap and leaning her head on his shoulder, making sure to flip her wet hair onto his back.

"Argh," Gohan growled. "Thanks, babe."

She sat up and giggled. "You're welcome!" She shook her head quickly, flinging water from the ends of her hair onto his face. "I thought you could cool down."

Gohan laughed quietly and shook his head.

"Hi honey," Goku said, walking up behind Chichi and wrapping his arms around her, squeezing her back to his chest.

"Oh! That's cold!" Chichi cried. "Goku! Now my dress is all wet!"

Goku grinned and started to back away from his wife, who was looking more cross by the second. He giggled nervously. "I was just playing!"

The others on the porch were looking rather concerned for Goku as his wife advanced on him. Jenny ran by the porch, being chased by Trunks, and flung her arms in the air, gleefully yelling, "MAKE IT RAIN!"

A wall of water seemed to fall straight down on the party-goers, drenching everyone from head to toe. Everyone, that is, except Piccolo and Paige who remained perfectly dry.

"Oh, she's gonna pay for that!" Catie shouted, flinging her legs over the side of the porch and dropping to the ground to chase after Jenny.

"Not if I get to her first," Vegeta growled, following suit.

"And that," Lindsey said, pointing into the yard, "is why I did not pick Vegeta as the first victim."

Jenny was running as hard as she could. She could still feel Trunks' energy close behind her. If he'd taken to the air, or even just tried a little harder, he could have easily caught her. But this was too much fun. And then she felt something else – two other energies quickly catching up to her. Vegeta and Catie. A sudden thought struck her. 'Go back, Vegeta,' she thought. 'Go back.'

Jenny ran into a grove of trees, disappearing into the thick foliage. She jumped with all her strength and grabbed a branch to launch herself into the tree. She perched carefully on the branch and suppressed her energy.

Vegeta watched as Trunks, then Catie disappeared into the trees and he hit the brakes. He smiled to himself and turned around, walking back across the vast yard towards the house where Bulma and Chichi were screaming in anger about their drenched clothing.

Trunks stopped a short ways into the trees and looked around. He couldn't see Jenny or feel her energy. Catie skidded to a stop a few feet behind him. She, too, was looking around, trying to find where Jenny went. He cast a nervous glance over his shoulder at her.

"HAAAA!" Jenny screamed, dropping from the tree and dousing both of them with water.

They choked and sputtered, glaring at her as she tore out through the trees again, laughing, "You're never gonna catch me!"

Trunks looked over at Catie. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," he said.

"No," she answered. "I now have two enemies." And with that, she suppressed her own power level and slunk off through the trees to find Jenny.

Trunks sighed and lowered his energy as far as it would go. Catie was strong-willed, he had to give her that. She wasn't going to forgive him easily and he knew it. But he couldn't help feeling a little happy that they were in this silly, made-up game in the trees, trying to find their sister, both of them united in some way. He ran quietly through the woods, his eyes scanning for any sign of Jenny or Catie.

Jenny succeeded in surprising Catie and Trunks on three separate occasions, always dropping out of a tree to blast them with water or dropping big spheres of it on their heads from above, before running off again.

She was hunkered down at the base of a huge tree trunk, trying to sense their energies. She frowned as she realized they were suppressing their energy as well. How do you out maneuver two people who have been trained exactly the same way you have? Damn it, Vegeta.

She grinned to herself and did exactly the opposite. She raised her power level, letting them know exactly where she was.

A smile pulled at Catie's lips. Jenny was luring her into a trap. There's no way she would make a mistake like that. Still suppressing her own energy, she quickly slipped through the trees, cautiously drawing closer to Jenny. Catie pressed her back against a tree and peered around it. She could sense Jenny's energy a few yards away behind the huge oak. Catie glanced around, trying to figure out a surprise attack. She threw a thick vine from her hand into the upper branches of the tree she stood under and began to climb. She finally stopped when the branches around her looked almost too weak to support her weight. She balanced precariously on one, feeling well hidden in the leaves.

There was a snapping of twigs and she looked straight down to see Trunks standing beneath her. He was standing stock-still, waiting to see if anyone had heard him.

A smirk pulled at Catie's lips. 'Fool,' she thought. Concentrating, Catie crouched down on the slender branch she stood on, balancing on the balls of her feet, focusing her thoughts on the ground around Trunks. He didn't even notice as the roots of the tree crept across the toes of his boots and wound their way around his ankles.

Jenny jumped out from behind the tree with a war-cry and shot a huge stream of water at Trunks. It hit him in the chest and, unable to move his feet for balance, he fell to the ground, his feet pinned awkwardly under his butt as his knees had buckled.

Jenny blinked at him. "The hell are you doing?" she asked, trying not to laugh.

"I don't know!" Trunks said, twisting side to side, trying to see what had tripped him up.

Catie smirked and shot a vine into the branches of a nearby tree. Holding the vine, she swung down from her perch to land toe-to-toe with Jenny, their noses nearly touching. Jenny screamed in surprise and fell backwards, catching herself on the palms of her hands.

"Gotcha," Catie grinned, placing her hands on her hips.

"Jesus! You scared me!" Jenny laughed.

Trunks was angrily ripping the roots away from his ankles, cursing under his breath. Jenny's eyes flicked from Trunks' ankles to the triumphant smirk on Catie's face. Her shoulders slumped. "Really?"

Catie's nose twitched as she gave Trunks a fleeting glance. "I could do worse," she muttered and turned on her heel to head back towards the house.

His ankles free of the roots, Trunks pushed himself to his feet. "That didn't work the way I wanted it to."

"Me neither," Jenny sighed.

Trunks raised an eyebrow. "You were trying to get me and Catie together?"

"You said it yourself," Jenny answered. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

He gave her a small, appreciative smile. "So this was all part of some big, master plan?"

Jenny pressed her lips together for a second, moving them side-to-side. "More like an improv."

"Damn," Trunks muttered. "I thought you were supposed to have all the answers."

They started to walk slowly back to the house.

"Nah, that's Oolong," Jenny said.

"Huh?"

"Pigs are supposed to be very wise," Jenny said in a solemn tone. "I think he holds the secret to the universe, but he's far more interested in watching the struggles of earthlings. So instead of imparting his vast knowledge to us, he hides behind a front of pervertedness and dirty magazines."

Jenny never broke step as she continued back towards the house, but Trunks had to stop and catch his breath, he was laughing so hard.


	13. Fireworks

They ate an early supper of fried fish and potatoes, then spent the rest of the evening light setting off brightly colored smoke bombs which the little ones enjoyed running through and shooting pop-bottle rockets at each other, from which no one was safe. Chichi had to finally call that one off after Lindsey had aimed several rockets at Catie and missed; one accidentally exploded under Chichi's feet.

Piccolo had been concerned about the loud firecrackers going off around Paige, but the little Namek simply cooed and blinked in wonder at the activity, never fussing at all. And she was more than delighted when Leelee placed a popper in her hand and showed her how to throw it on the ground to make it snap. Piccolo wanted to strangle Leelee when Paige dumped the little packet of sawdust all over his lap, but Paige was so happy, he just sat there tolerantly until Jenny finally came over and carried Paige out into the yard.

The last light was disappearing behind the horizon when Gohan set off across the yard towards the platform he and Trunks had built. Lindsey hurried after him, her eyes dancing.

"So, what do we start with?" he asked, looking into a box.

Lindsey squeezed between him and the box, bending far over to reach inside it, pressing her butt against him.

"Stoppit," he hissed, backing up a couple steps. She'd been doing that all day. She would wink at him and run her tongue over her lips or bend way down in front of him in those daisy-duke shorts and glance back over her shoulder. She'd walk by and discreetly brush her hand against the front of his pants and once even grabbed his butt and whispered in his ear, "I like your ass."

"What's wrong?" she asked now, standing up straight and blinking innocently at him.

"You are driving me nuts!" he whispered back through clenched teeth, but couldn't keep the ornery smile from his face. "If you don't stop, I will drag you upstairs and throw you on the bed right now!"

She winked at him again. "Don't threaten me with a good time."

"You gotta stop," he whined. "My parents are here!"

She stepped closer to him, pressing the curves of her chest against him. "Don't you like it?"

He had to swallow hard. "Y-Yes. Of course I do. But you're the one who said we had to wait until after the party."

"I'm just making sure you don't forget," she grinned, running her nails up the front of his thigh.

Gohan gasped as goosebumps erupted over his skin. He slid his hands down her bare back and into the back pockets of her shorts, squeezing her firm flesh. He captured her mouth with his, pulling her closer against him.

"Let's blow some shit up!" Seventeen cried, running up on the platform as Lindsey and Gohan quickly broke apart. "Gimme something, Gohan."

Gohan gently pushed his wife aside and selected a big tube from the box and handed it to Seventeen.

"Give me your lighter, Lindsey," Seventeen said.

"I… uh… I don't have one," she stammered. Dammit. She hadn't thought about cigarettes all day and now that he mentioned it, she wanted one really bad.

Seventeen cocked an eyebrow. "You don't have one?" He paused to laugh. "You smoke like a chimney!"

"She quit," Gohan grinned.

"Oh!" Seventeen said. "Well, do we have a lighter anywhere still? These things aren't going to blow themselves up."

"Yeah, there's one in the kitchen drawer," Lindsey said and hurried across the yard.

"Any particular reason she quit?" Seventeen asked as he and Gohan watched her go.

"She got tired of me complaining about it," Gohan lied casually. As excited as he had been about the party tonight, now he couldn't wait for it to be over.

Everyone wandered out into the yard to sit in lawn chairs or spread out on blankets tossed in the grass. The day had been so hot that the yard had dried quickly. Catie sat on a blanket with Jenny and Piccolo, cuddling baby Paige as Paige grabbed at Catie's face, cooing, "Tee-tee! Tee-tee!"

"CAAA-tie," Catie said slowly, looking Paige in the eye. "CAAA-tie."

"Tee-tee!" Paige squealed.

"Close enough," Catie sighed.

Jenny laughed. "She calls Gohan 'Go-go.' It could be worse."

Catie giggled.

"Hey!" Jenny said to Lindsey, who was walking by with a soda in her hand. "Come sit with us!"

Lindsey smiled and paused, but her smile faded when she saw Catie sitting there. "Thanks, Jen, but your blanket looks a little crowded." And she strode away to flop into a lawn chair next to Leelee.

Catie had her head down, staring intently at Paige. Paige cocked her head to the side. "Tee-tee?"

Catie managed a small smile for the little girl in her lap.

Paige snuggled tightly against Catie's neck and slapped her tiny hand against Catie's back. "Tee-tee," she said sadly as though she was trying to comfort her mother's friend.

"Stubborn," Piccolo growled quietly at Lindsey.

Gohan, Seventeen, and Trunks took it upon themselves to put on the fireworks display, taking turns selecting the different fireworks, lighting them and running away as fast as they could as the wicks behind them crackled before ear-shattering booms issued from the tubes. Goku had wanted to help out, but for some reason they just didn't trust Goku with explosives and he walked back across the yard, pouting. He had just about sat down in a lawn chair next to Chichi and Bulma, when he noticed he couldn't see Vegeta anywhere.

"Where's Vegeta?" he asked.

"Oh, sulking in the shadows somewhere, if I know him," Bulma answered.

"Hmm. I'll go find him," Goku said, picking up the lawn chair and walking towards the house. Sure enough, Vegeta was sitting in a lawn chair of his own near a corner of the house, tucked back in the darkness. "What're you doing over here?"

"Enjoying some time to myself," Vegeta answered gruffly.

"Good idea! I'll join you," Goku grinned and plunked his chair down next to Vegeta's.

"Clown," Vegeta muttered under his breath.

They sat quietly for awhile, watching the huge fireworks erupting in the darkened sky, the brightly colored sparks raining down as everyone in the yard oohed and ahhhed appreciatively.

"How's Catie doing?" Goku asked.

"She's fine," Vegeta answered. "She's training hard. She has the mindset of a true warrior."

Goku had to smile. Vegeta's own competitiveness was spilling over into Catie; he wasn't fooling anyone. Goku's eyes scanned over everyone in the yard and he couldn't help but notice the division between them. Lindsey and Leelee were sitting far away from Jenny and Catie, while Trunks and Gohan were at the edge of the yard, setting off the fireworks. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed again as he looked at his son and daughter-in-law. Gohan hadn't elaborated on his discussion with Lindsey, but Goku was pretty certain Gohan had finally seen Lindsey's point of view and had accepted it. He sighed. Oh well. There was always Goten when he grew up.

At least that was one issue taken care of. Now for Trunks and Catie to work out their differences. And for Catie and Lindsey to work out theirs.

"There's too much division here," Goku said aloud.

Vegeta looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "What are you babbling about now?"

Goku was lost in thought for a moment. "We aren't going to be able to fight this war if these kids don't get their act together."

Vegeta quickly raised his eyebrows once. "You're right, Kakarot."

"I just don't know how to fix it," Goku said.

"Nor I. At this point, I'm not entirely sure we can do anything."

"You've never taken that stance before."

"This is a battle we've never fought before," Vegeta countered. "That girl of yours needs to realize that Catie made a genuine mistake. A very foolish mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. And Catie needs to realize the same thing in Trunks."

"They're going to have to work that out on their own," Goku sighed, staring up at the fireworks overhead as Jenny and Catie sang a loud chorus of "The Star Spangled Banner."

"Silly American holiday," Vegeta grumbled.

"Ah, it's fun for them," Goku said. "It's still a part of them, even if they call this place home now. You can understand that."

Vegeta crossed his arms and didn't respond.

"These kids of ours," Goku sighed. "I don't know what we're gonna do with 'em, Vegeta."

Vegeta snorted. "I don't suppose there's a return policy on them, is there?"

Goku laughed. "You'd miss 'em and you know it."

Vegeta snorted again. "Why do you think I push them so hard? This war is upon us, Kakarot. It's coming faster than you think."

Goku sat up in his chair and blinked at Vegeta. "What makes you say that?"

Vegeta shrugged. "Call it a hunch."

"I don't know where you're getting that from," Goku said thoughtfully, "but if that's the way you really feel, maybe I should step up my training."

"About time you took this seriously," Vegeta said.

"But how can we fight them?" Goku asked, staring at the ground, his mind racing. "With their magick, our energy attacks just glance off. There's gotta be something we're missing."

"You said yourself that the girls are the key to winning this war."

"But we can't let them do it alone. We have to figure out something for ourselves."

Vegeta considered Goku's words. He put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Jennifer did it the other day."

"Did what?" Goku asked.

"She created an attack that was a combination of energy and magick. If we could learn to do the same…"

"Us use magick?" Goku breathed. "How are we supposed to learn to do that?"

"I don't know!" Vegeta snapped. "I'm still working on it! I don't see you contributing anything here."

"Sorry!" Goku said, holding his hands up. "I though maybe you had an idea!"

"Baka," Vegeta muttered.

Goku rolled his eyes, but said, "We'll figure this out."

Vegeta huffed and gave a nod, then sat back in his chair to stare up at the sky, never paying any attention to the fireworks as he tried to figure it all out.

* * *

Leelee and Lindsey had abandoned their lawn chairs and were laying flat on their backs in the grass, their heads close together as they gazed up at the fireworks.

"Do you ever think about them, Lindsey?" Leelee whispered. "About what Sigourney's followers might be doing or where they are?"

"All the time," Lindsey answered in a quiet voice.

"Are you scared?"

"Yes."

Leelee chewed her lip. "I've been thinking lately… About what Verdandi said? About not wasting my gift. But I don't know how to use it on command. When I had that vision, it just came to me. I couldn't do something like that again if I tried."

"Well," Lindsey said slowly, "I've been reading about the Old Ways lately. About the Fates and the old beliefs. The old religion. It all makes a lot of sense to me."

"Yeah?" Leelee asked.

Lindsey nodded, still staring up at the sky. "Gohan bought me a shit-ton of book about it. You should come over and check 'em out sometime this week. I have books about protective spells and divination and all sorts of stuff. I think we should learn it."

"Oh my god, yes!" Leelee cried in a loud whisper and turned to look at Lindsey, her eyes dancing.

"Just make me a promise," Lindsey said.

"What's that?" Leelee asked.

"No more fucking Ouija boards."

Leelee giggled. "Deal."

"There they are," came Seventeen's voice.

The girls looked up to see Gohan and Seventeen leaning over them. Yamcha and Krillin had decided they wanted to try their hand at setting off the fireworks, so Gohan and Seventeen took a break. Goku had cried, "Hey, no fair!" and run across the yard to join them.

"Well, doesn't this look familiar?" Seventeen grinned, staring down at the two girls laying side-by-side.

Leelee giggled.

"Familiar?" Gohan asked. "What do you mean?"

"The pictures, Gohan," Seventeen answered in an exasperated voice. "Don't tell me you could've forgotten those pictures."

Lindsey's eyes went wide as Gohan said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I forgot to give them to you!" Lindsey giggled. "Oh my gosh. With Trunks showing up here, I completely forgot about them!"

Leelee rolled over to look at Lindsey. "How could you forget that?!"

The boys sat down in the grass beside them.

"What's going on?" Gohan asked suspiciously.

"We got naked and took pictures for you!" Leelee cried.

Gohan gasped. "You did _what_?!"

Lindsey blushed and screwed up her face. "Mebbe."

"Oh yes, they did," Seventeen grinned. He winked at Lindsey. "Lookin' good, girl."

Gohan looked murderous.

"I didn't get naked for the pictures he saw!" Lindsey cried, sitting up suddenly.

Gohan narrowed his eyes. "But he saw pictures of you? In what?"

"Lingerie," Leelee answered, sitting up. "We took pictures together. Don't worry, Gohan. You'll see all the same pictures that Seventeen saw of us together."

"And Jenny," Seventeen said, sitting back and pulling a package of sunflower seeds out of his pocket and dumped some into his mouth. He worked them around, shoving them to the inside of his cheek. "They're good pictures, too. Look professional."

"Who took these pictures?" Gohan asked.

"Leelee won't tell me," Seventeen answered and spat a shell on the ground.

It was Leelee's turn to look sheepish.

Lindsey leaned over and whispered in Gohan's ear, "It was Eighteen."

Gohan's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Where are these pictures?"

"Ummm… upstairs somewhere," Lindsey answered. She shot him an ornery grin. "Maybe I'll show them to you later," she said seductively.

A nervous excitement sprung up in Gohan's stomach and his shock about the pictures faded away. He could barely notice the fireworks, his mind was so preoccupied with what he may see when Lindsey finally shared the photos with him. He was so distracted, in fact, that he barely heard his father's shout of surprise when the tip of his hair caught fire and Jenny had to run across the yard to douse him in water again.


	14. Picture This

Gohan dropped the charred remnants of a firework into the bucket he carried. The yard was blissfully quiet and empty, save for Trunks, who had his own bucket and was helping clean up. There was a heavy layer of smoke in the air and the entire yard smelled of gunpowder.

"That was fun," Trunks said, setting his bucket down near the side of the house.

"Yeah," Gohan agreed. "I think we got everything picked up."

"No thanks to Lindsey," Trunks grumbled.

"Ah, she worked hard getting ready for it," Gohan said. "And she said she wanted a shower."

They tromped up the porch to the back door, Gohan wondering how to ditch Trunks so he could spend time with his wife.

"What's this?" Trunks asked as he peeled a big, blue envelope off of the glass door. "It's for you." He handed it to Gohan, who immediately recognized Lindsey's handwriting. She'd written nothing but his name on it in big, looping letters. He turned it over and opened it, withdrawing an eight-by-ten photo. Lindsey was sprawled on the bed in a revealing black piece of lingerie. Gohan's breath caught in his throat.

"OH!" Trunks gasped. He'd peered over Gohan's shoulder, but now was turning a deep shade of red. "Sorry, man! I didn't know it was going to be something like that!"

Gohan blushed and looked inside the envelope. There was a small piece of stationary folded there and he pulled it out.

_Gohan,_

_Follow the pictures. I love you._

_~Lindsey_

"Uh… Trunks?"

Trunks had already settled back in a lounge chair, kicking it backwards to an almost lying-down position. "I will hang out here on the porch." He pulled his cellphone and earbuds from his pocket and shoved them in his ears.

"We're not that loud," Gohan muttered.

"CAN'T HEAR YOU," Trunks said loudly, even though he hadn't turned the music on yet.

Gohan snickered and opened the door, the cold air conditioning washing over him as he stepped into the darkened house. Sure enough, there on the floor was another large photo of his wife in lingerie. He couldn't help but smile as he followed the trail of pictures, collecting them as he went. The pictures led him up the stairs and he had to freeze in his tracks as he realized these photos didn't contain lingerie anymore. A hot flush spread across his cheeks as he stood and admired each photo for a minute before picking up the next one. The trail of pictures stopped at the extra bathroom at the top of the stairs. Gohan tipped his head at the closed door quizzically. That bathroom was really small. It wasn't exactly what he had in mind. He turned the handle and opened the door, only to find the room empty. He clicked on the light and glanced around for a moment before something caught his eye. Written in bright red lipstick on the big mirror above the sink was a single word. _Strip._

Gohan set the pictures carefully on the vanity then yanked his clothes off as quickly as he could. He paused and looked at his reflection in the mirror through the big letters written on it. He gripped the edge of the vanity, breathing hard. "Okay, Gohan," he said softly to himself. "It's just Lindsey. Tonight's not any different than any other night. No pressure." He took a long, deep breath and exhaled slowly. "No pressure," he whispered. He didn't know why he was feeling so nervous. He opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the hallway, nearly tripping as his foot hit something. It was a black, high-heeled shoe. Looking down the short hallway to his bedroom, he saw the shoe's mate, then the black bustier his wife had worn in the pictures. He walked slowly towards the door and realized the black panties were hanging from the doorknob. He grinned to himself and opened the door.

Lindsey was lying chest-down on the bed, her knees bent and ankles crossed. Her wild curls fell over her bare shoulders as she rested her chin in her hand, smiling at him.

"Wow," Gohan breathed.

Her smile widened. "It's about time you showed up."

He snickered and crossed the room to her. "Some of us have work to do around here."

She sat up on her knees and moved to the edge of the bed where he was standing. "Does my big, strong man need a reward for all that hard work?" she asked, walking her fingers up his bicep.

He nodded, sliding his hands over her hips.

"Then here I am," she smiled.

"You're my reward?" he grinned.

"Can you think of anything better?"

"No," he breathed, his voice husky as he trailed his hands up her body.

She pressed her lips to his throat, tracing her nails down his arms. She kissed her way down his chest, down the flat muscles of his stomach, until she was bent double on the bed. She playfully nipped at the line of his hip and giggled when he jumped. He was already hard as she wrapped her cool fingers around his shaft.

He hissed. "Wow, your hands are cold."

"Then let me warm you up," she purred as she trailed her tongue along the length of him.

Gohan moaned low in his throat as she slowly ran her tongue up and down and slowly licked the head of his shaft. He felt her lips slide over him as she pulled him into her mouth. He gathered her hair in his hands to keep it out of her face, then grasped it all in his fist at the base of her skull. He gently rocked his hips, pressing deeper into her throat, and ran his free hand down her back and over her soft curves. He grabbed the back of her thigh and lightly ran his fingertips along the hot wetness of her body. She gasped and sucked him harder, taking him deeper in her mouth.

"God, that's good," he breathed.

He trailed his fingers along the moist line between her legs, barely pressing the tips of his fingers into her. He smiled as she enthusiastically responded to his every touch. With every flick of his fingers, she moaned and sucked harder until he felt he couldn't handle it much more.

"Stop, baby," he said softly, pulling away from her.

She blinked up at him, her green eyes confused. Still holding her by her hair, he gently but firmly pulled her up to kiss her passionately for a moment.

Something about the control he had over her by gripping her by her hair made Lindsey want him so much more. She wanted to feel him inside her, to overpower her, to completely have his way with her. She broke the kiss and laid back, scooting to the edge of the bed. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him to her. He teased her for a moment by rubbing his hard length against her as she hissed and writhed against him. He couldn't tease her for long; the warmth of her body was too enticing. He slid into her faster than he intended to and she cried out in pleasure. She threw her legs up to rest on his shoulders and he gripped the front of her thighs, leaning into her. She moaned and grabbed at her own breasts, pinching and teasing them. He filled her so completely; it was something she could never get over. It felt so good to feel him sliding in and out of her body, driving deeper and deeper inside her.

Gohan leaned further over her, his hands on either side of her shoulders, pinning her legs over her head with his shoulders. A small smile pulled at his lips as he took complete control over her, fucking her harder, her body completely exposed in her vulnerable position. She cried out again, her hands still teasing her own chest. His breathing quickened as he watched her squeeze the full curves, digging her nails into the soft flesh. Her body was so tight around his shaft, her wetness running down his body. He drove faster into her, his need for release building.

"Don't stop," she begged. "Please… oh god, baby… don't stop."

She could feel the tension building; he felt bigger inside her as her body clutched at his. He was so deep inside her now, thrusting harshly into her as she tensed up.

"Come on, baby," he growled, slamming his body against hers, trying to get even deeper inside her. He felt her clench around him and she screamed out, gasping for air as pleasure ripped through her every nerve.

Gohan was panting, thrusting quickly in and out of her. He was so close, he could feel the it building as he gave one final, powerful thrust, his body spilling into hers as he roared deep in his throat.

Her legs were shaking against his chest, her breath coming in gasps.

He withdrew quickly. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She shook her head no, unable to speak.

His eyes suddenly feeling heavy, Gohan wiped sweat from his forehead. "I'd better shower before I lay down," he said sleepily. God, he was exhausted. His knees felt weak as he walked towards their bathroom, but he remembered the pictures in the other bathroom and hurried down the hall to retrieve them and the pieces of clothing she'd strewn across the hall floor. He returned to the bedroom and dropped it all on the dresser, then headed for their bath to take a quick shower.

Lindsey lay flat on her back, wondering at what had just happened. She knew it was too soon; she hadn't even been without birth control for twenty-four hours yet, but a little practice never hurt anyone, right? Of course, if he was _that _good every time, she might start to hurt. She smirked to herself. Hot damn, that man was good in bed.

She sighed and tapped her fingers against her flat stomach, wondering what the fuck she was doing. She really did want a family and Gohan couldn't have been more perfect. But she still couldn't help worry about the potential for problems down the road. Ah well. They'd cross that bridge when they got there.

'Might as well do this thing properly, if I'm gonna do it,' she thought and wiggled around on the bed to a better position and waited for Gohan to return.

Rubbing at his hair with a towel, Gohan froze in his tracks and laughed out loud when he entered the bedroom. "What are you doing?"

Lindsey had thrown her feet onto the headboard and was pushing up with her toes, raising her hips towards the ceiling as her shoulder blades pressed against the mattress. "Trying not to suffocate under my boobs," she answered in a strained voice.

Gohan leaned over the bed and buried his face in the mattress, laughing.

"See? SEE?!" she shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at him and nearly falling sideways. "It's alllllll fun and games for you, while I have to do all the work!"

He realized what she was trying to do, and worked really hard to compose his face. "Th-thank you, baby," he snickered, crawling across the bed to kiss her forehead. He started laughing again. "You just look so funny."

She slapped at his arm and he retreated across the bed. "Can't reach me!" he laughed and picked up his towel from the floor.

"I hate you so hard," she muttered.

"So, uh, how long are you supposed to lay like that?" he grinned, pulling pajama pants out of a drawer.

"An hour," she huffed.

"Oh good lord," he snickered. "I'm staying up to watch this." He dressed and climbed into bed, leaning his back against the headboard. He reached over and held her hand. "I really do love you, you know that?"

"You better," she grumbled. She sighed, then smiled. "I hope you know how much I love you."

"I do now," he said softly, squeezing her hand.

"You're sure this is what you want?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he answered.

"Okay," she said, shifting her shoulders a little closer to the headboard. "This better work. I'm miserable."

"Oh, it can't be that bad."

"You try it!"

Amused and impressed by his wife's determination to give him what he wanted, Gohan flipped around in bed and put his own feet on the headboard, lifting his hips. It was terribly uncomfortable. "Yeah, screw this," he said after a moment and sat up to lean against the headboard again.

She laughed at him. "Wow. I really do look retarded."

"Nah," he said, shaking his head and leaning over to kiss her again. "You look amazing."

"You're so lucky I love you," she muttered.

"I know."


	15. Hate Me Today Hate Me Tomorrow

"_I have to block out thoughts of you_

_so I don't lose my head_

_They're crawlin' like a cockroach _

_leaving babies in my bed_

_Dropping little reels of tape_

_to remind me that I'm alone_

_Playing movies in my head_

_that make a porno feel like home_

_There's a burning in my pride, _

_a nervous bleeding in my brain_

_An ounce of peace is all I want for you. _

_Will you never call again? _

_And will you never say that you love me _

_just to put it in my face?" _

Trunks sighed and leaned back against the lounge chair, the music blaring in his ears as he stared up at the starry night sky. He blinked his eyes slowly, running over the day's events in his mind.

He'd been so excited to see Catie that day. She looked so amazingly beautiful. His excitement at seeing her and being around her had given him an energy boost, had put him in too good of a mood to be ruined. He'd been able to let go and be happy for the afternoon, getting in the water fight and chasing Jenny through the trees. Just being near her had lifted his spirits; it gave him pleasant butterflies in his stomach that he never wanted to go away.

But now the adrenaline of the day was wearing off and he was crashing. Hard. He found himself completely alone in the darkened yard and even the music pouring from the earphones couldn't block out the silence he felt around him. The empty blackness of the night seemed to swallow him alive. And the more he thought about it, the more panicked he began to feel.

Trunks tore the earphones from his ears and sat up straighter, shoving his phone and earphones in his pocket. Gohan and Lindsey's energies had dropped drastically low, signaling that they were both fast asleep. He stood up and stretched, then headed into the house. The house was dark and quiet, except for a light at the top of the stairs. He climbed the stairs quickly and realized the light to the spare bathroom was on. He stepped inside and jumped when he saw the lipstick lettering on the mirror.

Something panged in his heart at that. Gohan was like a brother to him, but seeing how happy Gohan was with Lindsey stirred up a sort of jealous longing in Trunks. He and Catie used to have that. And now it was gone. He kicked at Gohan's clothes that had been carelessly tossed on the floor and stared at the lettering, frustration and sadness building in his chest. He leaned his hand against the glass of the mirror, looking at his reflection and frowned. With a quick swipe of his hand, he smeared the letters and shoved away from the mirror to click off the light and head to his guestroom down the hall.

He flipped on the light to his room, then sighed as he saw the red lipstick smeared across his hand. He entered his own bathroom and scrubbed at his hand, muttering angrily about why on earth they'd make this crap so hard to remove.

He kicked off his shoes and stripped down to his boxers to climb into bed. He turned off the overhead light and laid down, curling up in the soft, cold blankets. God, this silence was deafening. He rolled over and snapped the little bedside lamp on to stare at Catie's picture.

Tears were coming again. How could he have screwed up so badly? Everything he had ever wanted was captured right there in that photo, and he'd lost it. Thrown it away in an instant because his head was so clouded, he couldn't have found his own ass with both hands in his back pockets, much less made the right decision. He screwed up his face, trying to fight the tears, but it was too much for him. Seeing her today now felt like salt in the wound. He'd never known a person could feel so utterly heartbroken, so lonely and lost. Even when the Androids of his own time had killed Gohan… Even when his mother had died in that accident… Nothing compared to this.

He rolled to his stomach and sobbed into his pillow, trying to stifle the noise from his throat. He gripped the pillow, pressing his face into it as his body contracted with sobs. He screamed into the pillow as his hair flashed to gold, his emotions overriding all control that he had.

The door to his bedroom burst open and Gohan and Lindsey stumbled in.

"Trunks, what's wrong?" Gohan asked.

Trunks shook his head, gripping the pillow tighter. "I c-can't take it an-ny more!"

Gohan crouched down at the side of the bed, placing a comforting hand on Trunks' shoulder. "C'mon, buddy. It's okay."

"It is not okay!" Trunks shouted. He sat up suddenly, his normally blue eyes now a blazing sea-foam green. "How is this okay?! I l-lost the most import-tant thing in m-my life! And it's all m-my fault!"

Gohan looked up at Lindsey, his eyes asking for help. She pulled her robe tighter around her and sat on the edge of the bed next to Trunks. "Trunks, honey, come on now," she said in a soft voice. "I know this hurts. But you can't go falling to pieces."

"I'm already in pieces," he muttered sadly, squeezing his eyes shut. He tried to choke back another sob, but was unsuccessful and only managed to give himself a coughing fit as he continued to cry.

"You're gonna make yourself sick," Lindsey warned, but in a kind tone. She rubbed his back, trying to calm him down. His hair fell back to its normal pale shade and fell across his face like a curtain, but he continued to cry.

Gohan sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Trunks. "What can we do, Trunks?"

Trunks shook his head.

"We want to help you," Gohan insisted.

Trunks pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes until stars popped inside his eyelids. He couldn't take a steady breath to save his soul.

Gohan sadly met his wife's eyes, completely at a loss for what to do. She took a deep breath through her nose, then got to her feet and grabbed Trunks' cellphone off the dresser. She sat back down and grabbed his chin, turning his face to her. She slicked his hair out of his face.

"Call her," Lindsey said firmly, her eyes boring into his as she held out the phone.

"Lindsey, I can't," he said miserably.

"Why not?" Gohan asked.

"I just can't take it if she won't accept my apology again," he answered.

"Then you'll have done everything you can," Lindsey said. "You can't force her to forgive you. But you can try. Put the ball in her court. You have to give up the control here. It'll be up to her." She pressed the phone into his hand. "And if you want to talk to us when you're done, we'll be downstairs."

"We will?" Gohan asked. He really wanted to go back to bed.

"Yes," Lindsey insisted. "You were just getting ready to make me coffee."

"Oh, right," Gohan grumbled, getting to his feet as she tugged at his elbow. She closed the door behind them as they left the room.

Trunks just sat and stared at the black screen of his cell phone in his hand.

* * *

Catie was sitting in her own bed, staring out the window of Capsule Corp. Why did he have to talk to her today? Why had she gone at all? She'd known better. Her stomach had twisted up in tight knots at the sight of him sitting there. Her breath had caught in her throat when he spoke to her in the woods. He kept trying to catch her eye, to smile at her, to get her to notice him. And every time, she turned coldly away while her heart silently screamed in agony.

Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at the full moon outside. One of her favorite movies was playing softly on the TV, casting a flickering light across her darkened room and she cried harder as the actress spoke words that stabbed through Catie like a hot knife.

"_Sometimes I feel there is a hole inside of me, an emptiness that at times seems to burn. I think if you lifted my heart to your ear, you could probably hear the ocean. And the moon tonight, there's a circle around it. A sign of trouble not far behind. I have this dream of being whole. Of not going to sleep each night, wanting. But still, sometimes when the wind is warm or the crickets sing, I dream of a love that even time will lie down and be still for. I just want someone to love me. I want to be seen. I don't know. Maybe I've had my happiness. I don't want to believe it, but… there is no man, Gilly. Only that moon."_

Damn you, Sandra Bullock.

Catie squeezed her eyes shut as more tears poured down her face. She just couldn't believe that he would betray her like that. Trunks had always been so loving and sweet to her. What had she done to deserve this? Had she pushed him into it somehow? Catie knew she wasn't a typical girl. She loved pranks and martial arts, being silly and making other laugh. She didn't demand expensive gifts on special occasions and was just as happy to sit with him and watch sports as she would've been if he'd dressed up slick and took her out dancing. She missed the way he'd pull her against his chest in his sleep and kiss the back of her neck. She missed the feel of his strong hand in hers as they walked down the street and she missed the smell of his cologne. She missed his laugh, his blue eyes, his long silky hair in her face as he leaned over her. Everything around her reminded her of Trunks. The dips in the bed where he used to lay, the taste of chocolate, even the smell of pool chlorine brought back memories of that last day they'd spent together.

She looked up at the moon again, not bothering to wipe her eyes. "I don't want to love him anymore," she prayed in a whisper. "Please, make me stop loving him. I'm so tired of hurting. Let me hate him. Please. Please. Please. I still love him. Make it stop. Please. Please."

The phone on the TV rang. No, that was her own phone, ringing from inside the bedside table. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, then reached over and tugged the drawer open. The picture on the screen made her gag on a scream in her throat. It was a picture of Trunks kissing her; he was smiling against the kiss and peeking up at the camera with one eye as he shot the picture with an outstretched arm. She slammed the drawer shut and clapped her hands to her ears until the ringing stopped. Her hands shaking, she let go of the sides of her head, looking warily at the little table as a chime rang, signaling a voicemail. She opened the drawer once more and slid her fingers across the screen, turning on the speakerphone.

Trunks' voice sounded rough, like he had a bad cold. "Hey… It's me. I just… I wanted to tell you how sorry I am, Catie… Please, call me back…. I love you. Bye."

"End of message," a mechanical voice rang out.

"Goddammit," Catie hissed as a new wave of tears washed over her. She fell over her pillows, the phone clutched in her hand. She didn't know why she did it, but she had to listen to it again.

"…I love you. Bye."

"…I love you. Bye."

He just had to call her right then. Leave it to him. Of course he'd call when she was lonely and miserable and wanting him so bad. Her phone went off again in her hand and she peered at the screen through watery eyes. It was a text message.

Trunks (1:13 a.m.): I miss you.

She slammed the phone on the bed, collapsing into more tears. 'Just go away. Let me forget you,' she thought to herself as the text messages continued to pop up on her screen. She wanted to throw the phone out the window, but she couldn't stop herself from reading them.

Trunks (1:14 a.m.): Please don't ignore me. I really miss you.

Trunks (1:14 a.m.): I know I fucked up. I never meant to hurt you. If I could undo all of the pain I caused, I would do it in an instant. Please forgive me.

Trunks (1:21 a.m.): Either you're asleep, or you're ignoring me. Please call me. I love you.

Catie stared at the text messages for several excruciatingly long minutes. Every time the screen started to dim, she tapped it with her thumb again, illuminating the screen.

"What are you doing?" she asked herself as her thumb slid across the screen as though it had a mind of its own. "Stop it," she whispered as she clicked Trunks' number and moved the phone to her ear.

"Hel- ahem – Hello?" Trunks' voice stammered.

She didn't say anything.

"Catie? Are you there?"

"Hi," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm so glad you called me," Trunks breathed. "It's so good to hear your voice."

Silence.

"Okay," he said nervously. "You don't have to talk. Just… Just listen to me for a minute. All right?"

"Kay." She was already mad at herself for calling him, but something inside her just had to hear his voice. She needed to hear him. She drew a long breath through her nose and listened.

"I never, ever wanted to hurt you," Trunks said in hushed tones. "I am so sorry for what I did. I made a mistake. I made a selfish, foolish mistake and I am so, so sorry. You're right. I should have fought it harder. I had a moment of weakness and I didn't stop to think at all. It's all my fault, Cat. Please, forgive me. Let me come home. I miss you. I miss you so much." He was starting to cry softly again, she could hear him drawing sharp breaths through a stuffy nose.

Angry tears burned her eyes again. This wasn't the apology she was expecting to hear. Fucking idiot. He almost had her, and then he had to say something like that.

"I thought you said you couldn't control yourself," she said in a low tone. "You were under a spell."

"I was," he answered sadly. "But, maybe, if I'd tried a little harder, I could've thrown it off. L-Like Goku did."

"You know what, Trunks? Delete my number. Don't call me again. You really are that selfish. And here I almost bought the I-couldn't-control-myself bullshit! What kind of an idiot do you think I am? Now you're changing the story around on me? So what was it, Trunks? Were you under her spell or did you just want to fuck her that bad?"

"Both," he whispered. "Mostly her spell, but a little of both. I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't under that spell."

Catie was seeing red. "This is the last time I will ever speak to you," she said in an eerily calm voice. "So listen real close. You betrayed me. You lied to me. I will _never _forgive you. Lose this number. Lose the memories. We are over. Done. Go find someone else. You and I are not going to happen."

"No, Catie, please," he sobbed.

"Goodbye, Trunks. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for. Because obviously you didn't find it here."

"Yes, I did!" he yelled, but she never heard it. She had ended the call and was bawling into the pillows again. She'd almost believed that he really wasn't in control of himself. But now… Now she knew the truth. He'd given in simply because he didn't want to fight that spell. There was nothing for it now. No forgiveness could be given. He'd truly betrayed her, spell or no spell. It didn't matter if he wouldn't have done it if he hadn't been bewitched. It had happened, pure and simple. And there was no turning back time; no wishes that could undo what had already been done. Now she had to fully face the path laid before her – one which she was to walk alone. She cried harder into the pillow as she faced the lonely prospect of going into this war without him by her side and she didn't stop crying until well after three in the morning, when she finally passed out from sheer emotional exhaustion.

* * *

The last bit of hope inside his chest crumbled. There was no changing her mind. No apology or gift or reasoning was going to fix this. Trunks and Catie were officially and irrevocably broken up. And here he sat, nearly twenty-one years old, in his best friend's guestroom with nothing but a picture of what he'd lost. As if moving of its own volition, his hand grabbed the top of the picture frame and flipped it face-down on the tabletop.

Trunks had gone completely numb inside. No, not numb. Numb wasn't anywhere near what he felt. Dead was more accurate. There was nothing. No hurt, no anger, no fear, no loneliness. Just pure emptiness. All the color in the room seemed to take on a shade of gray. Moving almost robotically, he stood and set the phone on the table and walked downstairs.

"Hey Trunks," Gohan greeted him. "Did you and Catie work anything out?"

"We're done," Trunks said dully. Even he was slightly surprised at the calm flatness of his voice.

"Huh?" Gohan asked, setting his coffee cup on the island. "What do you mean?"

Trunks met his friend's eyes. "Catie and me are over. I can't fix it. She's done with me." His head felt dizzy and his knees were about to give out on him. "Everything… I ever wanted… is gone." He couldn't breathe. His vision went dark as though he were falling instantly to sleep on his feet. He heard Gohan and Lindsey's shouts of surprise like they were very far away as his eyes rolled back in his head; he was unconscious before he ever hit the floor.


	16. Divination

The days passed by in a blur for Trunks. He spent all his free time in his guestroom, trying to sleep or staring blankly at the wall. He had no appetite at all, but forced himself to take at least a few bites at mealtimes, just so Lindsey wouldn't fuss over him. Gohan kept trying to get Trunks to watch movies with them or play video games, but nothing interested him. He continued to train every morning with Goku, but his heart wasn't in it and even Lindsey was able to best him with the simplest of moves. Jenny kept stopping by to check on him, trying to get him to enroll in some college classes with her and being as cheerful as possible, but even she wasn't able to get him to smile for even an instant. Trunks was so lost in his own misery that he hadn't even noticed that more than two months had slipped by.

It was just after noon on a hot September day when Goku called for a break during their training session. Trunks, who'd just been knocked flat in the dirt by Gohan, got up and sauntered back in the house without a word.

"We've got to do something about him," Gohan said, watching his friend go.

"You think I'm pushing him too hard?" Goku asked, scratching the back of his neck.

Gohan shook his head. "Nah. You can't be anywhere near as bad as Vegeta."

Goku looked over at Lindsey, who was sitting on the ground, plucking up pieces of grass one by one, looking disappointed.

"And what's wrong with you?" he asked.

She didn't answer.

"Lindsey?"

Her head snapped up. "Huh? I'm sorry, were you talking to me?"

"Yeah, I asked what's wrong with you," Goku repeated, half-laughing at the confused look on her face.

"Oh, just worried about Trunks I suppose," she answered softly and set her chin in her hand, propping her elbow on her knee. She didn't like lying to Goku, but she and Gohan had vowed to keep their plans a secret from everyone. She just didn't understand what she was doing wrong.

"I'm gonna grab a drink, you guys want me to bring you one?" Goku asked, heading into the house.

Lindsey nodded and Gohan said, "Thanks, Dad!"

Gohan dropped to the ground next to Lindsey and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Want to tell me what's really wrong?"

"I started today," she muttered. Now, not only was she cramping and moody, but she was disappointed, too. The first time she got her period, just a few days after she and Gohan had started trying to have a baby, she was relieved. The second time, she was a little confused. Now, the third time, she was starting to worry that maybe something was wrong with her.

"Oh," Gohan said, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"It's not your fault!" he smiled. "That's okay! We'll get it next time."

Next time. Jeez. Lindsey never thought she'd see the day where she felt like she was having _too much _sex, but wow. Between the all-morning training sessions and sex every night, every-single-goddamn-night, she was getting rather tired and sore. Add to it the housework and the online college courses she was taking and it felt like her brain was going to explode. She drew a deep breath, deciding she shouldn't bitch about it, and smiled at Gohan.

He squeezed her shoulders. "It'll be okay," he said softly, more to himself than to her. "It'll happen when it's supposed to happen."

'I hope,' he silently added.

* * *

"Trunks?" Goku asked.

Trunks was leaning against the doorframe to the back door, staring out at the porch. He slowly glanced over his shoulder and muttered, "Hey, Goku," before he turned to look back out the glass door.

"Trunks, you need to pull yourself together," Goku said firmly. "I know losing Catie hurts. But your life isn't going to end because of it. You have to snap out of this."

Trunks turned to face Goku. "If I knew how, I would."

"You have to decide to forgive yourself," Goku said. "No one else can forgive you if you won't do that."

"I…" Trunks trailed off. It made sense. He couldn't expect Catie to accept his mistakes if he hadn't accepted them yet himself. "How do I do that?"

"Well," Goku said thoughtfully, "first you have to realize that you've made a mistake. You've done that. Then you have to accept it – to take responsibility for what you've done, whether you meant to do it or not. Then you can tell yourself it's okay that you messed up. If you can do that, you'll be all right."

Trunks didn't know if he could do that. It sounded much easier said than done. He chewed his lip, thinking.

"But maybe you just need a night off," Goku said. "Why don't you and Gohan go do something fun? Just the guys. Take your mind off of things for a night."

Trunks shrugged. "I dunno."

Gohan and Lindsey wandered into the kitchen, looking for Goku and wondering why he hadn't returned to the yard yet.

"Hey, Gohan, why don't you take Trunks out for the night?" Goku suggested.

Gohan blinked in surprise. "Oh, I guess we could do that. D'ya have anything in mind, Trunks?"

Trunks shrugged again. "Whatever you wanna do, I guess."

"We could catch a movie or something," Gohan said, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge. "You don't mind, do ya, Lins?"

She shook her head. "I don't mind at all. You boys have fun." She leaned against the kitchen island. "Hmmm. Now what am I going to do with myself?" she wondered aloud.

"You could go hang out with Leelee if we invite Seventeen," Gohan said.

Lindsey gasped. She'd completely forgotten that she had promised to invite Leelee over weeks ago to show her the books. "Oh my god, I'm such a horrible friend!" she cried and ran from the room to grab her cell phone.

Goku stared after her. "What was that all about?"

Gohan sighed as he tipped the water bottle to his lips. "She forgot something again."

* * *

Lindsey kicked at the apartment door, a huge stack of books in her hand. She'd passed Seventeen on her way up to their apartment and he confirmed the door number to her as he headed downstairs to meet Trunks and Gohan. The guys decided to hit an arcade for a while and then go catch a movie.

Leelee yanked open the door and grinned. "Hey!"

Lindsey stumbled in with the books and dumped them unceremoniously onto the couch. "Hey, girly."

"Ooooo!" Leelee squealed, her eyes dancing over the books. "You do have a bunch of these."

"Lucky for me, Gohan likes to read even more than I do," Lindsey smiled. "So he never tells me no when I want a new book. Or… twenty."

Leelee began to read some of the titles out loud. "Embracing the Moon, Earth Air Fire and Water, Full Contact Magick, Summoning the Fates, Magickal Sex…" she paused and shot Lindsey a look. "Naughty."

Lindsey blushed and said, "Gohan threw that at me in the bookstore as a joke. I don't think he realizes I bought it."

"Have you tried anything out of these yet?"

Lindsey shook her head. "No, I'm just reading right now."

Leelee returned to scanning the books, "Dancing the Goddess Incarnate, Reclaiming the Power, Sticks Stones Roots and Bones… Hoodoo?" Leelee glared at Lindsey. "You're messing with Hoodoo?"

Lindsey shook her head violently. "Just reading!" she insisted.

"And you wanna give me shit over an Ouija board," Leelee grumbled. She picked up a black-covered book titled "Dream Magic" and sat down to read it.

Lindsey grabbed another book and plopped down on the soft white carpet to read.

"I wish I knew what they were up to," Leelee sighed, crossing her legs and leaning hard on her elbows.

"Probably screaming 'Die, Zombies, die' at a screen somewhere like they're twelve years old," Lindsey snickered, flipping the page in her book.

"No, I meant, Sigourney's people," Leelee said as her cat leapt into her lap.

"I didn't know you had a cat," Lindsey said, reaching over to scratch the black feline behind the ears.

"This is Snooki," Leelee sighed.

"Snooki?" Lindsey laughed. "Don't tell me you're a fan of that god-awful show."

Leelee shook her head. "When we first got her, she was in heat and kept yowling all night, so Seventeen called her a whore and, well, now her name is Snooki."

Lindsey was rolling with laughter.

"Anyway," Leelee said loudly, "I wish there was a way to see what they're planning."

Lindsey calmed herself and nodded. "I wonder if there's a way you can make yourself have another vision, like you did when Paige went missing."

"Well," Leelee said, picking her book up, "get to reading."

They spent the next couple of hours pouring over the books, sharing entries they thought might be useful, until they came upon a simple divination ritual. Lindsey handed the book to Leelee, who scanned her eyes over the page.

"I think I can do this," Leelee said thoughtfully.

"You wanna give it a try?" Lindsey asked.

"Okay," Leelee breathed. "We need salt and candles. Will regular table salt work?"

"I don't see why not," Lindsey answered, taking the book back as Leelee crossed the room to her small kitchenette and dug in a cabinet. "Where do we get holy water?"

"I read in that other book that you can add three pinches of salt to regular water and stir it with your finger to make some," Leelee said, filling a wine glass with cool water from the faucet.

Lindsey was a bit nervous. The last time she and Leelee had experimented with something it didn't turn out so well. But there were no spirits this time, no creepy occult boards. Surely this wasn't nearly as dangerous. This was the type of thing her grandmother would do.

Leelee returned and set the water, salt, and a bag of tealight candles on her coffee table. She set the glass on the floor in front of her and, glancing at the opened books, poured a measure of salt into her left hand, then added three pinches of it to the water. She stirred it with her index finger three times, then held the glass with both hands, concentrating on it for a moment. "Here," she said, handing it to Lindsey.

Lindsey took the glass and stared at it for a moment as Leelee started to set the tealights in a big circle on the floor, lighting them as she went. The circle was just big enough for her and Lindsey to fit in with Leelee lying down. Leelee laid back on the carpet, her arms at her sides with her palms up.

"Don't go outside of the circle," Leelee instructed as she closed her eyes.

"Yeah, I remember that," Lindsey said thoughtfully, memories of her grandmother coming back to her again. She stood and began to walk the inside edge of the circle, sprinkling the water with her fingers. She then did the same with the salt. She stood uncertainly over Leelee for a moment, then dripped some of the blessed water onto her forehead, her palms and her feet, then again did the same with the salt. She sat to Leelee's right side and waited.

Leelee began to recite the incantation she'd read over and over in the book.

"Cailleach of cowl and veil

And all the psychic realm entails

I ask to see all that You do:

Every vision; and break through

Help me to understand it all

Each image that may come to call

So when I'm done I know full well

The message and won't have to dwell

On whether I am wrong or right

Grant to me Your gift of sight.

O Cailleach, now hear my plea

And quickly bring your aid to me."

Lindsey sat quietly, watching her friend, prepared to shake her awake at any moment. But Leelee remained calmly still and silent.

Relaxing deep into the floor, Leelee tried to clear her mind. For a long time, all she saw was darkness. She was just about to give up when a small, orange light swam in her mind. She wasn't lying on the floor anymore, or so it seemed. She was standing in a void of nothing but darkness, but her bare feet were on something firm, like a warm, flat rock. Slowly she walked towards the orange light as shapes and figures came into view.

There was an open-front makeshift tent over a roughhewn table. The top of this table was strewn with rolls of thick parchment; some of them lay flattened on its top. There was a heavy scent of campfires and pine trees in the warm air. Leelee froze as she recognized the people gathered around this table.

"I don't like this," Nyx said, her purple eyes glaring at Sanath as he leaned over the parchment. "Your plan will fail. I want to do this my way."

"We can do this," he insisted. He looked up and stared right at Leelee and her breath caught in her throat, but he didn't react. It took her a moment to realize that he couldn't see her. She tried to focus on their conversation again as she stepped closer to the table to examine the parchment.

It was a map. A very old, hand-drawn map. She could see mountain ridges and a river, a forest spanned the edge of the mountains with a big, empty space in the middle. There were words there, but they were blurry. And the harder she tried to focus on it, the blurrier it became.

"THE BEASTS CANNOT BE CONTROLLED!" Sanath roared, pounding his fist on the table.

Leelee snapped her attention back to the Shaman, who was staring fiercely at Nyx.

"The full moon," Nyx said. "If we attack under the full moon…"

"NO," Sanath insisted. "They could destroy us all!"

"Or we can destroy our enemy without getting our hands dirty," Nyx countered. "Let them do the work for us."

"It will fail!" he cried.

Nyx slammed a big knife on the table, stabbing through the parchment as their companions jumped back in shock, the knife vibrating from being driven into the wood so forcefully. "Those are my terms! We either do it my way, or we don't do it at all."

"We have not the strength in numbers or in magick to do this," Sanath said.

"Then you'd better get to work," Nyx stated, crossing her arms with finality.

"What say you, Loki?" Sanath asked, turning to his blue-haired companion.

Loki looked serious for once. He considered the rolls of parchment on the table for a minute and grabbed Nyx's knife, wrenching it from the table. "Here," he said, pointing to the clearing on the map with the point of the knife. "If we can lure them here, we can attack from here," he was tracing the path he suggested with the knife. "It could work. Nyx is right, they are most vulnerable at the full moon."

"And less controllable," Sanath muttered.

Loki's eyes flashed. "And more dangerous. All the better to defeat our foes."

"Or us."

"Hybris?" Nyx asked.

"I have no say in the matter," she answered. "Tis not my decision to make. I will follow what you decide."

"Then it's settled," Loki said, standing up straight again.

Sanath huffed angrily and shook his head.

"Get to work," Nyx barked and strode right past Leelee into the blurry darkness.

Leelee gasped for air as the vision ended abruptly and her eyes flew wide open.

"What?" Lindsey breathed in surprise. "Leelee? What did you see?"

"They're planning their attack," Leelee answered.

"You saw them?!"

Leelee nodded. "I… I think we should tell the others."

Lindsey was breathing hard. "What are they planning?"

Leelee now shook her head. "Something to do with the full moon. I don't know."

Lindsey raised an eyebrow. "What, like werewolves or something?"

"You really think werewolves exist?" Leelee asked skeptically.

"How the fuck should I know?" Lindsey countered. "Two years ago, I didn't know crap about Saiyans or Nameks or Androids or magickal powers! I don't think werewolves is that big of a stretch!"

Leelee considered her friend's words for a moment. "I don't know." She brushed the salt from her hands and feet and stood up. "But what I do know is, they're planning something big and we need to let everyone else know what we know."

"All right," Lindsey agreed, getting to her feet as well. "Let's rally the troops."


	17. The Old Religion

Since Leelee's apartment was so close to Capsule Corporation, the girls had flown there as quickly as possible. It was still early enough in the evening that they felt confident they wouldn't be waking anybody. Leelee had explained the story to Bulma, who agreed that everyone else should know and started making phone calls.

"Here you are, dears," Mrs. Briefs chirped, setting down a tray of coffee cakes as Leelee and Lindsey shifted nervously on the couch. Bulma's mother sat down in a chair to their left side, smiling sweetly at them.

Neither Lindsey nor Leelee reached for the cake.

"Now don't be shy!" she giggled. "There's plenty for everyone!"

The girls looked at each other and, not wanting to be rude, selected a piece of cake for themselves.

"Oh, mother!" Bulma huffed, stuffing her phone into her pocket. "Cakes at this time of night?"

"What's wrong with that?" Mrs. Briefs asked innocently.

Bulma sat down on a couch opposite Lindsey and Leelee. "Everyone's on their way. They should be here soon."

"Is Catie here?" Leelee asked.

Bulma nodded. "She's in the GR with Vegeta. As usual. You know, I never thought I'd ever see someone with as much dedication to training as Vegeta, and then here comes Catie. Sometimes I think she wants it more than he does."

As if on command, Vegeta and Catie appeared a few moments later. Lindsey ducked her head and stared at her lap.

"What's going on here?" Vegeta demanded.

"I'm not going to make Leelee tell the story five million times," Bulma shot back. "You'll just have to wait until everyone else gets here."

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow. "Isn't it a little late for another stupid party?"

"Leelee had a vision again, just so you know," Bulma huffed and sat back against the couch, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

Vegeta looked to the dark-haired girl sitting on the couch. She looked incredibly nervous and continued to take tiny bites of the cake she balanced in her hand.

"Hey girl," Catie managed to smile at Leelee. "It's been a minute."

Leelee grinned, some of her nervousness melting away. "Yeah, I know. I hear you're training a lot."

Catie nodded and sat down next to Bulma. There was a nervousness in her stomach as she looked at Lindsey, but she was feeling feisty from her training session. "Hi Lindsey," she said boldly.

Lindsey gave the tiniest nod of her head and continued to stare at her lap.

"How are you doing?" Catie pressed, a smirk pulling at her lips. She was tired of being the bad guy. She'd apologized for what she'd done and she hadn't meant to do it in the first place.

Lindsey shrugged in response to Catie's question.

"How's Gohan?"

Lindsey's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed. "Alive. I know you're sorry to hear that."

Catie pressed her lips together in a firm line, but she held Lindsey's gaze.

Leelee sat quietly, looking back and forth between her friends.

"I'm here! I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!" Jenny called breathlessly, rushing into the room, followed closely by Piccolo. She skidded to a stop at the edge of the couch and yanked at her jeans, muttering, "Damn maternity pants."

Lindsey hadn't noticed it recently, but suddenly Jenny's baby bump looked huge to her. She was about five months along now and the bright pink, tight tanktop she wore made her stomach more pronounced than ever.

"Hey, lil' mama," Catie grinned.

Jenny grinned back at her and ran a hand over her stomach. "I think I'm starting to show again."

"Just a bit," Leelee snickered.

"At least I can still touch my toes," Jenny said, sitting down next to Catie.

"Can you feel baby moving yet?" Leelee asked.

"A little," Jenny answered. "And next week we find out if it's a boy or a girl!"

There was a jealousy bubbling up inside Lindsey. It surprised her. Just two months ago, she'd been adamant about not wanting a baby and now seeing Jenny felt like a slap in the face. She wasn't mad at her friend, just at her own inability to do the same.

"I bet you want a boy this time, don't you?" Mrs. Briefs giggled. "That would be fun for Piccolo!"

A light blush touched Piccolo's nose and cheeks, but he remained silent.

Jenny couldn't help but smile at him. "We'll see."

Lindsey wondered what Gohan would want. They hadn't talked about that yet. They were more concerned about just having one at all. Did it really matter if it was a boy or a girl? Was one "better" than the other? Lindsey didn't care at that point. All she wanted was to give her husband the one thing he wanted more than anything else in the world right now. She excused herself and headed for the bathroom.

"What's going on, guys?" Gohan asked as he, Trunks and Seventeen walked in. "We got your message, Bulma. Sorry I didn't answer. That arcade was loud."

"Leelee had another vision," Catie answered.

Seventeen rushed to sit beside her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Leelee answered.

"Where's Lindsey?" Gohan asked. "Wasn't she with you?"

"She's hiding in the bathroom," Catie answered.

Trunks was staring at the floor. He just couldn't bear to look at Catie right then.

"Hiding? From what?" Gohan laughed.

"Me," Catie answered.

"The two of you really need to reconcile your differences," Piccolo said.

"Hey, I tried," Catie shot back. "I said I was sorry. Gohan forgave me! I don't see why she won't!"

Trunks couldn't help but think it was rather rich of Catie to be complaining about someone else withholding forgiveness.

"I'm guessing you're talking about my daughter-in-law?" Goku asked, walking in with Krillin and Tien, who had arrived at the same time.

Catie huffed and nodded.

Goku laughed. "She's stubborn, that's for sure."

"Ya think?" Catie asked.

"I hear you're being rather stubborn, too," Goku said bluntly.

Everyone sat in a stunned silence for a moment.

"Wow, way to point out the elephant in the room, Goku," Tien said.

"Well it's true!"

Catie crossed her arms. "That's an entirely different situation."

"It is?" Goku asked, tipping his head to the side. "I don't see that much of a difference, really."

"What I did was undone!" Catie retorted. "Look! He's perfectly healthy!" She pointed at Gohan.

"That doesn't change the fact that it happened," Goku said. It was amazing how he could hold an argument with such a carefree, polite tone.

"Gohan, you agree with me, right?" Catie asked. "You forgave me!"

"How dare you speak to him?!"

Lindsey had reentered the room and was glowering at Catie.

"Lins," Gohan protested. "Catie can talk to me if she wants."

Lindsey shook her head.

"I'll speak to him if I want!" Catie snapped. "You don't own him, Lindsey. He forgave me and it's about time you do, too."

"You're one to talk about forgiveness," Trunks growled, finally raising his eyes to her.

"You did that of your own free will! You said so yourself!" she spat, getting to her feet.

"I said I could've stopped myself if I'd tried harder!" he shot back. "I didn't go out and intentionally betray you!"

"But it happened anyway!"

"So that makes him guilty?" Lindsey asked.

"Yes!"

"Good," Lindsey smirked. "Then you're guilty, too."

"It is not the same!" Catie insisted.

"How is it not?" Trunks demanded. "You did something you didn't intend to do, just the same as I did! But, oh, no, Catie's so goddamn perfect she couldn't possibly be guilty of making a mistake!"

"Who the hell ever said I was perfect?!"

"You've certainly made my father think so!"

"LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS!" Vegeta roared.

Seventeen snorted and covered his mouth to hide behind Leelee's shoulder.

"Oh, so now you're mad because I'm working my ass off to try and save the world?!"

"I don't give a shit what you do," Trunks spat. "You can go to hell for all I care right now."

"Saving the world doesn't mean shit if your loved ones are still hurt at the end of the day!" Lindsey shouted.

"Like you're any better," Trunks shot at her.

Lindsey blinked at him. "What?"

"You're no better than she is! You're being just as hateful and stubborn. I don't see you offering any forgiveness here!"

Lindsey's shoulders were shaking. "Why you… After all I've done for you?!"

Trunks was far too angry to care who he hurt at that point.

"All you've done for him, huh?" Catie spat. She turned to Trunks. "What? You fucking her now, too?!"

"OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH," Goku said loudly and everyone fell silent. He looked from Catie to Trunks, "I can't fix the two of you," he said, then looked from Catie to Lindsey, "But I _can _fix the two of you." He marched across the room and grabbed Catie by her upper arm, then, dragging her along with him, grabbed Lindsey by her arm and marched both of them out of the room.

"Oh, they are gonna get it," Leelee said in a long, singsong voice.

"Serves 'em right," Jenny said firmly, crossing her arms and legs tightly as she sat back against the couch.

Trunks was still seething as he looked over at Gohan. "What?"

Gohan shook his head. "Nothin'. You're right."

"Damn right I am," Trunks said, plopping down on the couch next to his mother.

Bulma was staring at the door. "If anyone can get those two to make up, it's Goku."

* * *

Goku was staring fiercely at the two young women before him. "I've had about enough of this," he said firmly. "You two were best friends! I don't understand how you can just throw that away!"

"She killed Gohan!" Lindsey spat, pointing an accusatory finger at Catie. "She killed your son! Doesn't that bother you at all?!"

"He was revived, Lindsey," Goku answered.

"But what if he hadn't been?!" Tears were starting to stream down her face again. "We could have lost him forever!"

Goku drew a deep breath, trying to calm his frustration. "Lindsey, how many times do we have to have this conversation? You can NOT live your life worried about what-if! A million things can happen but you can't live your life worrying over them all the time. You have to let go of that."

Lindsey's shoulders slumped and she sighed. "Okay," she said softly, wiping her face. "You're right, Dad."

Goku smiled.

Catie was dumbfounded. "You… You forgive me?"

Lindsey gave a small smile. "Yeah, I forgive you."

Tears welled up in Catie's eyes and she hugged Lindsey tightly.

"Good," Goku grinned. "Now, let's go find out what Leelee knows!" And with that, he turned and walked back to the living room.

Catie tried to break the hug to follow him, but Lindsey pulled Catie back to her, holding her tighter. "Now you listen to me, and you listen good," Lindsey whispered, her mouth so close to Catie's face that her lips brushed her ear. "I will fight beside you in battle. And I will be friendly and polite when the others are around. But know this: I will hate you with every fiber of my being until my dying breath."

Catie's insides turned to ice as Lindsey slowly released her. Lindsey stared hard into Catie's eyes, her nose barely an inch away from Catie's, then turned and followed Goku to the living room.

* * *

Leelee told everyone what she'd seen in her vision in as vivid detail as she could. She told them about the maps and Sanath and Nyx arguing, about the smell of the pine trees and the tent; she wanted to make sure she absolutely didn't leave anything out.

"And you did this intentionally?" Piccolo asked.

Leelee nodded. "The Fate told me to not waste my gift. I was trying to see if I could use it to help us."

"And you're certain they didn't see you?" Vegeta asked.

"The Shaman and Nyx both looked right at me and didn't react at all. Not even a blink or a flinch," Leelee answered. "I'd think they'd have reacted somehow if they saw me, right?"

"Good work, Leelee," Goku said, clapping her on the shoulder as he leaned on the back of the couch she sat on.

"What do you think these beasts are that they were talking about?" Lindsey asked.

"My first thought is a Saiyan," Vegeta said.

Lindsey blinked at him. "Huh?"

"The full moon," he answered as if she'd suddenly gone stupid.

Lindsey looked to Gohan. "What's he talking about?"

Vegeta growled. "The fact that Saiyans turn into giant apes when they see the full moon!" He stared in disbelief at the confused look on her face. "You have no idea what I'm talking about."

She shook her head slowly.

"You didn't tell her?" Vegeta snarled.

Gohan rubbed the back of his neck. "It maybe slipped my mind."

"You've never turned into a giant ape," Lindsey said, a slight laugh in her voice. "I'd have noticed that."

"Well of course he didn't!" Vegeta snapped. "He doesn't have a tail anymore!"

Lindsey was looking more confused by the second. "A tail?" She turned to Gohan again. "You used to have a tail?"

Vegeta slapped his own forehead.

"All Saiyans are born with a tail," Piccolo explained. "If the tail is removed, it prevents them from transforming under the full moon."

"Didn't you ever wonder about the scar on my back?" Gohan asked.

"Well, yeah, but you never explained it, so I thought, you know, maybe you didn't like to talk about it or something," she answered.

"But if your tails are gone, how could that have anything to do with the vision?" Jenny asked.

"Maybe they're planning to use their magick to transform you guys," Tien said.

"It does seem to fit," Krillin added. "At least, about not having any control over them."

"They sound eager to start this battle," Piccolo said. "We may be facing this sooner than we originally thought."

"HA!" Vegeta laughed. "I told you clowns this was coming!"

"We don't know for sure that they're coming any sooner," Trunks said.

"But they are working towards it," Piccolo said. "And, once again, it sounds like they're relying on their magick to fight and not strength. That's something we haven't prepared for."

"I've been thinking about that," Goku said. "I still think if there's a way for us to learn magick like the girls use, we could take these guys out easily. Our attacks are stronger than theirs. If we had the magick to push through their defenses, there'd be nothing to worry about!"

"But how do we learn that, Dad?" Gohan asked. "That's something the girls were born with."

Goku looked to his daughter-in-law. "Lindsey, these books that you have, do they mention anything about how to learn to use magick?"

"Well, yes and no," she answered.

"Out with it," Vegeta interrupted.

She shot him a frustrated look. "Look, these books are written by modern day humans. They're based on the old beliefs. It's a new religion based on the Old Ways. It's Paganism. Witchcraft. Anyone can do this. But not in the way we are."

"Explain," Vegeta ordered in a calmer tone.

"It's like the Old Ways have been watered down over the centuries," she said. "While the magick we use is just like it was long ago, now it's more of a theory for people who want to be part of this religion."

"I'm not following' you," Tien said.

She sighed. "Okay, so like when we were in that courtyard and Loki made the teapots appear on the table, it just happened. BAM. There they were. Literally right out of thin air. But these books, if you want to draw something to you, it's more like a prayer. You cast spells using herbs and incense and candles, then you focus energy and put it out to the Universe and wait for your spell to manifest itself."

"Then how were you able to use the information in the books to do what Leelee did?" Seventeen asked.

"You have to read between the lines," Lindsey explained. "We already know Leelee has the gift of being a Seer. It came to her unexpectedly. So when we found a ritual to open her up to having a vision, we used it. And it worked. There's a lot of information about the Old Ways in there, we just have to not take these spells at face-value. Instead of just, you know, saying a chant for protection, we have to figure out how to actually create a protective force around us."

"Just like that female did when I fought her," Vegeta said.

Lindsey nodded. "Exactly."

"So where does it come from?" Goku asked. "How can we use it?"

"Spell work requires a manipulation of energy," she said. "You draw energy to you, from the earth, your surroundings. The belief is that different plants and animals and stones hold varying vibrations of energy. For example, white sage is a protective plant while lemon balm is used for healing and wormwood to curse someone. So you use these things to create a specific kind of energy to send out to the Universe to manifest the things you want. The energy comes not only from within you, but also from everything around you. Everything has an energy and a spirit. The Divine, which is God and Goddess, is in every living thing."

"So in order to use this power, we have to learn to collect energy from around us instead of from within us?" Piccolo asked.

Lindsey tilted her head side-to-side. "For the most part. You actually draw it into your body. Then you can focus it and use it."

"So it's like raising our own energy and bringing it out, only instead of it already being inside us, we have to draw it in?" Gohan asked.

Lindsey nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"So how do we learn to do that?" Jenny asked.

"Meditation. Spending more time in nature, attuning ourselves to it," Lindsey answered. "That's why our powers are based on the basic elements of nature. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Light. That's where it all comes from."

"What a bunch of nonsense," Vegeta finally said. "Herbs and candles and superstition. If you think that's going to win a battle, you're sadly mistaken."

"Now hold on, Vegeta," Goku said, "This is the information we've been looking for. Sure, some of it sounds a little silly, but I think underneath that is something we can use."

Vegeta huffed.

"I agree with you, Goku," Piccolo said. "Listen, Vegeta, I appreciate everything you've done for Jenny. But I think it's time I took over her training."

"What?" Vegeta barked. "You've got to be joking."

"Everyone knows you put little emphasis on mental training," Piccolo said. "I think I would be the better teacher when it comes to that."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Fine. But if she falls in battle, her blood is on your hands."

Jenny was looking nervously between Vegeta and Piccolo. She'd always trained with Vegeta. She almost felt that her husband was stepping over a line here. Vegeta was like a father to her and for Piccolo to announce that he was taking over, well… she almost felt like she was losing something. Although she never voiced it, having Vegeta in her life was extremely important to her. He was stable and protective. And while Piccolo was also all of those things, Vegeta came at it from a parenting view that seemed even safer to her. A husband can be lenient on his wife because he cares too much. A father can be hard on his children and push them farther for the same reason.

Jenny's relationship with her own father was strained, to say the least. That's why Vegeta was so important to her. He was protective of her in a way her own father never had been. Vegeta was a stark contrast to the unstable alcoholic she was used to. She'd never had a close relationship with her father and now that Vegeta had stepped into that role, she was terribly afraid of losing him. That's why she'd stayed away so long when she accidentally broke the gravity room. She wanted to give him time to cool off so he wouldn't disown her completely. She'd have been crushed by that.

"Well then, I guess we have a new way of approaching our training, you guys," Goku laughed.

"Yeah, we'd better head home," Gohan said.

Seventeen checked his watch. "Did you still wanna catch that movie? We can make it in time if we leave now."

"You're going to go to the movies after all this?!" Leelee cried.

"Well, it's not like there's anything we can do about it tonight!" Seventeen said. "It's only a couple hours and then I'll be home!"

Leelee huffed. "Fine."

He kissed her cheek. "Love youuuuu."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she muttered.

"You going to the movie?" Lindsey asked.

"Uh, well, it did look like a good flick…." Gohan trailed off nervously.

"Go on," Lindsey said. "I think I'm gonna head home. I'm tired anyway."

"Come on, Trunks," Seventeen said, getting to his feet. "We gotta hurry."

"All right," Trunks grumbled, getting up. "See you guys later."

"I'll fly home with ya," Goku offered Lindsey.

"Sure," she nodded. They said their goodbyes and headed out.

"Are you sure you want to train me?" Jenny asked Piccolo.

He nodded. "As long as you're okay with that."

She chewed her lip and nodded.

"What?" he asked.

"Can I still have one day a week to train with Vegeta?" she asked sheepishly.

"Oh, all right. One day."

Vegeta smirked triumphantly as Piccolo narrowed his eyes at the Saiyan.


	18. Enough is Enough

Jenny sighed as she traced her fingertips along the edge of Piccolo's ear. She was lying flat in bed with his head on her chest as he spoke softly to her belly, his hand trying to feel any kick or wiggle from the new life growing there.

"Piccolo?"

"Hmm?"

"Are we ever just going to have one normal day?" she asked.

"Probably not."

She sighed again and slammed her hands on the mattress. "I'm so sick of the drama! It's bad enough we're trying to prepare for a war, but Catie and Trunks just refuse to get along! It's so frustrating!"

Piccolo nodded. He was at a complete loss as to how to handle that situation.

"Well, at least Lindsey and Catie made up," Jenny said.

"I wouldn't hold your breath on that one," Piccolo said slowly. Lindsey was a good actress, but she tipped her hand too easily. Either she didn't realize how good a Namek's hearing was, or she had forgotten that Piccolo was there.

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked.

Piccolo sat up and looked at Jenny. "Your friend is just putting up a show to lessen the drama for everyone else. She hasn't forgiven Catie. She's merely being civil for everyone else's sake, nothing more."

"How do you know that?" Jenny asked.

"She more or less said that to Catie when Goku walked away from them," Piccolo answered.

"What the…" Jenny trailed off. She sat up slightly, then slammed her head back against the pillows. "Dammit, Lindsey."

"At least she's trying to ease the tension for everyone," Piccolo stated. "I wouldn't say anything to anyone if I were you."

"But I can't just keep that to myself!" Jenny insisted, fighting the urge to cry. "I want them to be friends again! And I want Catie and Trunks to get back together! I want my family back the way it used to be!"

Piccolo tried to discreetly scoot away from his wife. Mood-swing incoming in five… four… three…

"Goddamn them!" Jenny shouted, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed. She started pacing around the room. "They love each other! I don't understand why they all have to be so stubborn! Don't they realize what they're doing?! To each other? To us? They're going to ruin everything!"

"Jenny, calm down," Piccolo said in a calming voice.

"How can I calm down?!" she yelled. "I can't handle this anymore! I… I… ouch." Jenny's knees buckled and she caught herself one-handed on the dresser, the other hand pressed to her stomach.

Piccolo leapt out of bed and rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"

"I… I don't know… It… ouch… it hurts…" Jenny's face screwed up in pain as she slowly lowered herself to the floor.

Piccolo ran to the bedroom door and bellowed, "DENDE!" then dropped to his knees beside her. "Is it the baby?"

Jenny nodded. "It feels… like contractions…"

Piccolo's heart stopped. It was far too early. Yes, Paige had been born about two weeks before the estimated due date, but this early in the pregnancy? If this baby was born now, its chances of surviving were slim to none.

Dende entered the room a few minutes later. "Jenny! What's wrong?"

"I think I'm in labor," she choked out, breathing heavy.

"Help her, Dende," Piccolo commanded.

"Piccolo! I can't do anything!" Dende protested. "I can heal someone if they've been injured, but there's no injury here to heal! You'll have to take her to a hospital."

"All right," Piccolo said, scooping his laboring wife into his arms. "You watch Paige."

Dende nodded and stepped aside as Piccolo ran out of the Lookout and took to the sky.

* * *

"Hey babe," Gohan smiled as he and Trunks entered the house.

She looked up from her bowl of ice cream. "Hey," she said with her mouth full.

Gohan snickered and sat down on the couch next to her. "Ooh! Chocolate." He scooped a bite out of her bowl and sat back.

"Thief," she muttered.

"Sorry for the way I snapped at you earlier," Trunks said, shifting from foot to foot. "I was mad. I didn't mean it."

She shrugged. "No biggie. We were all mad."

"At least you and Catie are friends again," Gohan smiled at her.

She smiled and nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Trunks sat down on the couch on Lindsey's other side. "So we're good?"

"Yeah," she said honestly. "I ain't mad atcha."

"Ain't?" Trunks teased.

"I didn't stutter," she said, staring at the TV and taking another bite of ice cream.

Gohan swiped her spoon and stole another bite of her ice cream.

"Get your own!" she growled.

Gohan shook his head. "I want yours."

She grabbed the spoon, but he held on. A struggle for the spoon ensued as she tried to wrench it away from him and he continued to hold on, laughing at her. She put her foot on his chest and leaned away from him, nearly knocking Trunks off the couch in the process. With his free hand, Gohan reached out to tickle her ribs, trying to win back control of the spoon, but all he succeeded in doing was making her scream at the top of her lungs.

"Dang it, guys," Trunks growled as the wrestling match nearly spilled over into his lap. He tried to shove Lindsey back towards Gohan, but she was laughing and shrieking, trying to get away and her back hit against Trunks' shoulder, pinning him to the side of the couch.

Trunks rolled off the couch and hit the floor as Lindsey fell backwards and her bowl, miraculously, slid off her lap and landed next to the couch without spilling.

"Gimme the spoon!" Gohan ordered.

"NEVER!"

Gohan was laughing so hard, he couldn't hold on to the spoon anymore. He collapsed over his wife, laughing, and she held the spoon high in the air. "VICTORY IS MINE!"

She dropped the spoon in the bowl and hugged Gohan, laughing with him. "You crack me up, baby."

Gohan sat up. "I'm so lucky to have you," he grinned. "You're amazing."

She sat up and shoved him back to his side of the couch. "Shit, no I'm not." She went to retrieve her bowl from the floor, but it was gone. "What the…" she said, looking around. Finally she spotted it in Trunks' hand as he sat cross-legged on the floor, watching the TV and trying to look inconspicuous.

"TRUNKS!" she roared, launching herself off the couch. "You give that back!"

Trunks hastily stuffed the last bite in his mouth. "I didn't want it to melt!"

She'd wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to wrestle him to the floor, but sat down and pouted when she saw the empty bowl. She huffed. "Ya'll are some dumb motherfuckers, taking chocolate away from a girl who's PMS-ing."

"Awwww," Gohan laughed. "All right, I'll fix you a new bowl."

"Make me one too!" Trunks said.

Gohan shook his head and started for the kitchen.

* * *

"Hey! Look at you!" Seventeen exclaimed when he entered the apartment. "You figured out how to use the vacuum!"

Leelee clicked the machine off and stared at him. "Oh ha ha."

Seventeen smiled. "You know I'm just giving you shit."

"That's all you ever give me," she growled.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Oh, I can give you more than that." He bumped his hips against hers a couple times, grinning mischievously.

She giggled. "Why can't you ever let me be mad at you?"

"Because that's not going to happen to us," Seventeen said earnestly. A sudden thought struck him and he touched Leelee's chin, bringing her eyes to meet his. "I want you to promise me something."

"Sure, babe. Anything," she answered, smiling softly.

"I want you to promise me that no matter what happens to us, we will _always_ work it out. I don't care what it is. I never want to lose you. Promise me that we'll always be together. Can you do that for me?"

A light touched her eyes and she nodded. "Absolutely."

He kissed her slowly and passionately. After several minutes, he finally broke the kiss and looked deep into her eyes again. "Now make me a sammich, woman. I'm starving."

She threw her head back and laughed, then grabbed the vacuum to put it away.

"Sammich!" Seventeen repeated and slapped her on the butt.

Leelee jumped and giggled, then hurried to the kitchenette to make him a bite to eat.

Seventeen kicked off his shoes and sat down on the couch, clicking on the TV. He noticed the books on the coffee table and went to pull one from the bottom of the stack and knocked them all to the floor by accident. "Dammit," he sighed and picked them up, setting them straight on the table again.

"Klutz," Leelee teased, setting down a plate in front of Seventeen and sitting down on the couch beside him.

"Let me guess, she forgot and left these behind."

Leelee nodded. "I'll give 'em back the next time I see her."

His curiosity piqued, Seventeen opened one of the books and began to read.

* * *

"Oh, come on! It's not that late!"

"Catherine, it's nearly midnight," Vegeta growled. "You're not going to progress if you don't allow your body to rest and repair itself between training sessions."

"But I don't want to rest!" Catie insisted. "I'm not tired!"

"Then do it yourself!" Vegeta barked. "I don't care if you stay up all night. But our training session is first thing in the morning, same as always. If you're exhausted, so be it."

"Fine," she huffed and marched away from him as he headed towards the stairs that would lead to his bedroom. She slammed the door to the downstairs bathroom and grabbed her swimming suit that hung in the shower. She changed quickly, grumbling to herself, then grabbed a towel and headed outside to the pool. She clicked on the underwater lights and dove in, kicking her legs against the water to propel her forward.

She didn't understand what was going on. So what? Was she supposed to play along with Lindsey in her game, trying to make everyone believe they were friends when in all actuality, Lindsey couldn't stand the sight of her? Her face broke the surface of the water and she sucked in a lungful of air. She mentally scolded herself. She should've known Lindsey wouldn't give in that easily. Bitch. 'Maybe I don't want to be friends with someone like that,' Catie thought. 'Maybe I'm better off without her. You know what? I _am _better off without her. And I'm better off without _him_, too. Fuck 'em both. I don't need anyone else in my life. I can do this on my own.'

A calm reserve settled in Catie in that moment and she stopped at the edge of the pool, folding her arms on it and resting her chin on them to think for a moment. She'd always had her friends around her, to comfort her, to push her, to laugh with her, to support her. Maybe she'd become too reliant on them. She could still have her friends, of course, but she didn't _need_ them. She nodded to herself. "From now on, I count on no one," she said confidently to herself. After all, Vegeta didn't rely on anyone to reach his goals. Why should she? She could take a page out of his book. Nothing else mattered. All that mattered to her now was becoming the best female warrior the Earth had ever seen. She may not be able to compete with the Saiyans, she knew that, but she could surpass the rest of them. And she'd do it to protect them. She never wanted Jenny to know the pain of losing her child again. No, Catie was going to make sure that no one she cared about was ever in pain again. She'd relied on them for far too long. Now it was time for them to rely on her.

She kicked off the side of the pool, swimming on her back, when a sudden pain ripped through her lower stomach. She paused and stood in the pool, wrapping her arms around herself. Oh god, she'd never felt a pain like that. It felt like cramps, but a hundred times worse. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to understand where the pain was coming from. She slowly made her way to the side of the pool, breathing hard, trying to will away the pain. She growled, resting her forehead on the pool's edge, hugging her stomach. The pain eased for a moment, allowing her to catch her breath, then slammed into her senses again. "Oh fuck," she moaned. She wanted to climb out of the pool, but the strain of lifting her own weight only made it hurt worse, so she floated in the water, panting and groaning, as her mind raced to figure out where on earth this pain was coming from.

* * *

Jenny was panting, her stomach tightening again, as the labor pain ripped through her body. The nurses were rushing to get an IV in her arm, taking her vitals and the vitals of the baby. They barely spoke to her as they worked quickly, throwing a lot of medical jargon around.

"We're going to give you some terbutaline," one nurse finally said to Jenny. "It should stop the contractions."

Jenny nodded, too scared and in pain to speak. Piccolo stood in the corner of the room, watching the nurses work, wanting to shout at them to do something more, to save his child, but he realized that wouldn't help matters and so he stayed out of their way.

Jenny was staring up at the ceiling, tears leaking out the corners of her eyes, her lips barely moving as she whispered a prayer to the Fates. "Don't take my child. Please. Don't take my baby from me."

A knot formed in Piccolo's throat that he couldn't swallow. He couldn't help but repeat the same prayer silently in his own mind.

It took a few minutes for the drug to take effect, but finally the pain stopped and Jenny was able to relax on the hospital bed. The doctor and an ultrasound technician appeared shortly thereafter. The doctor checked Jenny all over, retaking her vitals and making sure she hadn't dilated too much.

"Everything looks good," she said, writing on a clipboard. "Are you taking care of yourself?"

Jenny nodded.

"No strenuous activity?" the doctor asked.

"I work out a lot," Jenny answered nervously.

"You're going to have to put that on hold," the doctor said. "With you going into preterm labor, I have to label you a high-risk pregnancy now."

"High-risk?" Piccolo asked, stepping to Jenny's bedside. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"It means her chances of going into preterm labor again are now much higher," the doctor answered. "You could lose the baby if you're not careful. Have you been under any excessive stress lately?"

"Maybe, a little," Jenny admitted. "My friends aren't getting along right now."

"She's been taking it pretty hard," Piccolo added.

The doctor frowned. "Between that and the working out, you're lucky we were able to stop your labor. You're going to have to avoid stress and take it easy."

"But… I have to train!" Jenny exclaimed.

"Train for what, dear?" the doctor asked kindly.

"Her father is a martial arts fighter," Piccolo half-lied. "He's constantly pushing her."

"Well that has to stop," the doctor said firmly. "I'm putting you on bed rest for the next six weeks."

Jenny's eyes went wide and she started to protest but Piccolo took her hand and shook his head no.

"That means no exercising, no walking unless absolutely necessary, and no lifting anything over ten pounds," the doctor instructed.

"But my daughter weighs more than ten pounds!" Jenny protested.

"Then sit and have someone hand her to you," the doctor said. She smiled kindly. "I know it's frustrating. But you have to think about what's best for your baby."

Angry tears were burning the edges of Jenny's eyes, but she nodded.

"Now, we're going to take an ultrasound and check on baby," the doctor said. Her eyes scanned the chart in her hands. "You're just far enough along, would you like to know the sex of your baby?"

"Sure," Jenny shrugged. She was so upset at that moment, she didn't much care. All she wanted was for the baby to be healthy, and for herself to be healthy enough to train again.

The technician checked the baby's heart rate and movements, took measurements and pronounced that everything looked perfectly fine. She then finally said, "Looks like you're having a girl."

Jenny looked up to Piccolo, trying to gauge his reaction. She expected him to look a little disappointed, she figured he'd be hoping for a boy this time, but all she saw on his face was relief.

"We're going to monitor you overnight," the doctor said. "If everything's still okay, we'll release you in the morning."

"Thank you," Piccolo said to the doctor.

She nodded. "You're welcome to use that bed, sir," she said, indicating the spare bed in the room.

He nodded, but stayed where he was, holding Jenny's hand.

The doctor and the ultrasound technician made sure Jenny was comfortable, then left the room, wheeling the big pieces of medical equipment out with them.

Piccolo heaved a sigh and sat down in the chair next to Jenny's bed.

"I'm so sick of hospitals," she muttered.

"I'm just glad you and the baby are okay," he said.

"You okay with having another girl?" she asked timidly.

He nodded. "Yeah. We can have a boy next time."

He had to fight to keep an amused smile off his face as she flew into a rage, screaming she was never doing this again, that he was outside of his goddamn mind, and he must be smoking crack if he thought he was ever getting any from her again.


	19. Pure Magick

Jenny spent the next few weeks confined to her bed, thanks to Piccolo's insistence that she follow doctor's orders. She passed the days propped up in bed with pillows, pouring over some of the spell books Leelee brought her, scouring the internet for information, and practicing meditating while Paige happily crawled all over the bed. Paige was fascinated with mommy's laptop and Jenny found herself saying, "No, Paige!" over and over again as the little Namek tried to poke the buttons.

Leelee had been the one to bring Lindsey's books by because Piccolo wasn't allowing Lindsey in the Lookout. In fact, he wasn't allowing anyone in, save for Leelee who was the only person that didn't seem to bring drama wherever she went. He'd gotten into a shouting match with Catie and finally had to threaten to call Vegeta if she didn't remove herself. Trunks had come by to check on her, seeing as how Jenny had been checking on him so often, but Piccolo wouldn't let him in either.

So it was that Leelee happened to be sitting on the edge of Jenny's bed one afternoon, putting little braids in Paige's hair, when Jenny suddenly announced that she was sick of reading and not doing.

"But you can't really do anything right now," Leelee protested. "You said your doctor told you no strenuous activity."

"Conjuring magick wouldn't be strenuous," Jenny countered. "It comes from all around us, not just from within us."

"But you have to draw it into you," Piccolo said. "I'm not sure about this, Jenny."

She huffed. "It couldn't hurt me. Look, if I feel like I'm getting tired, I'll stop. Just let me try?"

Piccolo crossed his arms, considering. Jenny wouldn't intentionally risk hurting the baby, but at the same time, he couldn't deny that some of Vegeta's ambitious drive had rubbed off on his wife.

Jenny pouted and batted her eyes at him.

"Oh god, no," he muttered. "Not that face."

She stuck her bottom lip out, trembling. "Pweeeease? Pretty pwease, Piccy-chan?"

A hot flush touched his cheeks.

Leelee snorted. "Piccy-chan, huh? Hey, can I call you that?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

"NO!"

Leelee half-cringed and giggled.

Piccolo turned back to Jenny, who was still pouting. "Oh, all right," he huffed.

Jenny went "squeeeee!" as Leelee released Paige on the bed and said, "Let's get to work."

It wasn't as easy as Jenny had thought it would be. Paige proved far too distracting and was sent to play in her nursery under Mr. Popo's watchful eye while Piccolo sat quietly in the corner of their bedroom to make sure Jenny didn't overexert herself.

Jenny sat quietly on the bed, her legs crossed, with her forearms resting on her knees, her palms facing each other. At Leelee's instruction, she imagined roots growing from her body, deep into the earth, drawing up powerful, pure magick. She focused on sending this magick down her arms to form a sphere between her hands. She spent three hours that first day, trying to conjure it, but she kept forming a ball of water between her hands instead.

"This is hopeless," she muttered, falling back against the pillows.

"You're trying," Leelee said.

"I think that's enough for one day," Piccolo said firmly, looking at the exhausted expression on his wife's face. "Leelee, you'll have to come back tomorrow."

Leelee nodded and hugged Jenny goodbye, then ran from the room after saying, "Bye, Piccy-chan!"

She regretted it the next day when she returned and Piccolo did nothing but give her dirty looks as if challenging her to try it again. Every afternoon, Leelee stopped by to work with Jenny while attempting to summon her own magick as well.

It wasn't until two weeks later that something finally happened.

Piccolo felt a funny sensation, like a pulling from deep inside his chest as he sat in his corner of the room. There was something glowing between Jenny's hands, a small blue orb of light that seemed to swirl and burn. Jenny's face was screwed up in concentration, her eyes squeezed shut. From her palms flew tiny threads of magickal energy, feeding the orb and making it grow.

"Oh, wow," Leelee breathed, her nose inches from Jenny's hands. Piccolo put his hand on Leelee's shoulder to stop her from touching it. He didn't know how much damage raw magick like that could inflict.

Jenny cracked her eyes open at Leelee's gasp and was shocked to see the orb in her palms. She jumped and the magick dissipated into thin air.

"I did it!" she grinned excitedly. "Did you guys see that?!"

Leelee nodded enthusiastically. "That was amazing!"

Piccolo smiled. "Well done."

Jenny clapped her hands and wiggled on the bed. "Okay, let's do it again!"

After that, Jenny couldn't stop herself. She was constantly conjuring the pure magick, focusing on holding it there, growing it bigger, then grinning at the warm rush that swooped up her arms when she absorbed it back into her palms. She could just stare at it as it sparkled and swirled between her hands in varying shades of blue. This was nothing like the energy blasts Vegeta had taught her to use. Those were heavy and solid with so much energy packed into them they could take out a city block. This, though… This was different. It was misty and ethereal. It wasn't something she could touch. She could see it and feel it, but there was no solidity to it.

Because the magick was conjured from everything around her, Jenny was able to manifest the blue orbs without exhausting herself. So she sat up in bed late at night with Piccolo sleeping beside her, making the orbs as big as she dared without waking him.

Leelee loved watching Jenny summon that magick. One afternoon she got brave enough to try to touch it and squealed in delight as it absorbed into her outstretched finger, shot up her arm, and warmed her insides.

Jenny was looking wide-eyed at Leelee, who continued to giggle as Piccolo watched in interest.

"Hey!" Leelee grinned. "My headache's gone!"

"It is?" Jenny asked, looking to Piccolo for an explanation.

A triumph roared in Piccolo's chest. "Seems to me that magick has healing energies."

"Oh, we could use that," Leelee smiled.

Piccolo nodded his agreement. He debated with himself for a long time before he spoke again. "Jenny, do it again."

She created the blue orb again, looking at him for further direction.

"Can you shape it?" he asked.

"Like what?"

"Flatten it out, like a shield," he said. He was nervous. If his theory was wrong, this could be bad.

Jenny had to concentrate for a long time to turn the blue orb into a flattened circle in the air before her.

Piccolo summoned the tiniest energy blast he could and stared at his wife, gripping the tiny ball of energy in his hand. "Let's see if you can block it." He gently lobbed the energy blast at the center of the magickal shield and had to duck as it flew back at him harder than he'd thrown it.

"That's how they do it," Leelee whispered.

"They wear it like an armor," Piccolo said, the realization hitting him. "Pretty ingenious if you ask me."

They spent the rest of the day having Jenny create magickal shields, none of which Piccolo could penetrate. As their confidence grew, he threw bigger and bigger energy waves, always catching them as they rebounded back to him.

"Block her," Piccolo commanded, aiming an energy blast at Leelee.

Jenny threw the shield in front of Leelee just in time to block Piccolo's attack.

"Jesus, Piccolo," Leelee scolded. "That would've taken my head off."

He smirked.

Jenny put her hand up to her mouth and stage-whispered, "That's what you get for calling him 'Piccy-chan'."

"Now you do it, Leelee," Piccolo ordered.

She blinked at him. "Huh?"

"You've spent so much time helping Jenny that you haven't done it yourself yet," he answered.

"Gotcha," she said and sat back down on the bed, focusing her attention on the space between her hands.

* * *

Leelee returned home that evening, thinking about Jenny's magick and smiling inside because now, finally, it felt like they were getting somewhere. She'd finally conjured a small orb of magick after a couple more hours of practice and was feeling pretty damn proud of herself. Hers was a smoking pearl gray color as opposed to Jenny's shimmering blue, but they decided that even when they conjured the magick from the same place, it must have shown a bit of a reflection of their own powers. Now they were going to be ready for this war. They still had months, maybe years, before the war began. Who could imagine how much they could accomplish in that time?

She hadn't spoken to the other girls for several weeks and she wondered how their training was going. That's why she was so shocked to see Lindsey sitting on her couch when she entered her apartment.

"Hey girly!" Leelee grinned. "What're you doing here?"

"Leelee, I need your help," Lindsey said in a soft tone.

Leelee eyed her friend. Lindsey looked tired and sad with dark circles under her eyes and bruises on her arms in various stages of healing.

"You been training hard, huh?" Leelee smiled as she sat down on the couch next to Lindsey.

Lindsey nodded. "Damn Saiyans," she muttered, rubbing her arm absentmindedly.

Leelee laughed. "Well, you are training with three of them."

Lindsey sighed.

"So what do you need help with?"

Lindsey held out a spell book, opened to a specific page. Leelee glanced uncertainly at Lindsey and took the book, looking over the page. She gasped.

"But… But you said…"

"I know what I said!" Lindsey snapped. "But this is what Gohan wants. It's… It's what _I _want. And I can't… I can't…"

"You're having troubles getting pregnant?" Leelee asked sympathetically.

Lindsey nodded and buried her face in her hands. "I can't give my husband what he wants."

Leelee set the book on the coffee table and wrapped her arms around Lindsey as she began to cry.

"It's been months," Lindsey sniffled. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you," Leelee answered. "Sometimes these things just take time."

"But you should see the disappointment on his face," Lindsey said. "I'm so tired of him being disappointed with me. I'm so tired of being disappointed in myself."

Leelee drew a deep breath. "Gohan isn't disappointed with you, silly. He's probably just disappointed with the situation. It's not you, baby."

"Please help me, Leelee," Lindsey whispered. "You're the only one who's been successful with this spell stuff so far."

"All right," Leelee agreed softly. She picked the book back up and scanned the page again.

"You can't tell anyone," Lindsey said, wiping her eyes and sitting up on the edge of the couch. "I made Gohan swear we wouldn't tell anyone until it happened."

Leelee nodded, still reading.

"What're you all up to?" Seventeen asked as he entered the room. He'd let Lindsey in earlier, then retreated to the bedroom to do some reading on his computer.

Leelee clutched the book to her chest. "None of your business."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Ooookay," he said.

She sighed. "It's girl stuff, babe. It'd gross you out."

"Oh lord, I am not listening to another conversation about bloating and cravings and how all men suck," he said, grabbing his jacket. "I'll see you all later."

Lindsey and Leelee snickered as he left the apartment.

Leelee fixed her dark eyes on Lindsey. "You're sure this is what you want?"

Lindsey nodded.

"All right," Leelee said. "Let's cast a circle."

Lindsey laid on the floor as Leelee walked the circle, pouring salt, sprinkling water, smudging the air with incense and lighting candles. She chanted an invoking ritual, calling the four quarters to aid in their rite. It was much more elaborate than the last time they'd worked together.

"You been practicing?" Lindsey asked, peeking out from under closed eyes.

Leelee nodded. "With Jenny." She dropped to her knees by Lindsey's side and held her hands out, concentrating like she had earlier. The small gray orb formed between her hands and she held it steady as she began to speak.

"Come, Urdh, release the new soul to be born of Lindsey.

Come, Verdandi, sprinkle her with the waters of life.

Come, Skuld, and bring what must be.

I bless the Fates! So mote it be!"

She lowered her hands over Lindsey's abdomen and allowed the orb to absorb into Lindsey's body. She gasped and opened her eyes at the warm sensation that flooded her system. "Leelee, what…"

"Shh," Leelee hushed and held out the book, pointing to the next part, indicating for Lindsey to read it aloud.

"Mine is the power of the Goddess,

Mine is the blood that grants new life

I am calling on the new soul to enter,

I am giving the new soul life divine."

The girls sat in the circle for a long time, quietly holding hands and thinking about the spell or talking in hushed tones about everything that was going on around them. They jumped when Seventeen returned, noisily shutting the door behind him.

"What on earth are you doing?" he asked in a semi-amused voice.

"Magick," Leelee answered.

"Oooh," he said. "Can I join?" He stepped closer to them, but Leelee screamed. "What?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

"You can't just walk through the circle! You'll ruin it!"

"Right," he said skeptically. "I'm going to take a shower instead then. You all let me know when you're done with your little pow-wow here."

Leelee got to her feet and closed the circle, releasing the elemental quarters, then turned to Lindsey and grinned. She pulled her to her feet and hugged her.

"Thank you, Leelee," Lindsey whispered.

Leelee smiled. "Now, you go home, clean yourself up and fix your face, and then you screw that boy's brains out, you hear me?"

Lindsey giggled and nodded.

Leelee hugged her once more, then sent her home.

Gohan jumped at the sudden weight on his chest, but smiled when he saw his wife there.

"Sorry," he yawned, "I dozed off watching TV."

"I see that," she grinned. She leaned over him and kissed him passionately, tugging at the hem of his shirt.

"Mmm!" Gohan said, breaking the kiss. "Shouldn't we go to our bedroom?"

"Nah," she grinned. "The couch will be fine."

"Okay," he said uncertainly as she kissed him again. She kissed her way along his jaw to his ear and whispered, "Make love to me."

That was all the encouragement Gohan needed and he nearly ripped the clothing from his body in his rush to undress.

* * *

Lindsey was walking around beaming the next day. There was no way they didn't get it right this time. They'd made love until the sun had started to creep through the windows and in every room of the downstairs part of the house. The couch, the stairs, the dining room table, the kitchen counter… Over and over again until they were so blissfully exhausted, they could barely stand.

But it was not meant to be.

That's why, three days later, Gohan found her sobbing on the bathroom floor, angrily throwing tampons at the wall and cursing everything around her for her misfortune.


	20. American Made

Sabriena lay in bed, starting at the matching pistols on her nightstand. She shook her head, and rolled to her back, flopping one arm above her head.

"'s the matter with you?" Tumbler asked groggily as he rolled towards her.

She smiled at him. His blue eyes were half-open in the semidarkness and he yawned deeply as he propped his head up on one elbow.

"Don't worry about it," she said softly and kissed him, his scratchy face brushing harshly against hers. He moved to lay over top of her, pinning her to the bed with his muscular form, planting harsh kissed in the crook of her neck. She continued to stare at the ceiling, lost in her own thoughts. "Fucking Loki," she muttered.

Tumbler paused and stared at her. "Huh? Who's that?"

Sabriena shoved out from underneath her boyfriend and got out of bed. She grabbed a pair of jeans from the floor and threw them on, grumbling to herself. She pulled on a long-sleeved, bright yellow shirt, then grabbed her pistols and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Tumbler asked, blinking at the door.

Sabriena stormed down the hallway, dropping the gun's magazine into her hand as she went, thinking furiously about Loki. Fucking coward. She didn't know why she'd suddenly become so obsessed with him, other than the fact that he'd pretty well humiliated her in their last fight. She'd had daydreams about shooting him in his face or turning his pet turtle into soup as he watched in horror. She wrinkled her nose at the thought. Her mind could go to some pretty twisted places sometimes.

The newly repaired warehouse smelled of fresh paint and lumber, the carpets still fluffy and new from a lack of foot traffic. She loved this house and didn't want to leave it again. But she knew the day was coming when her friends in Japan would ask her to come to them again, to help fight whatever foe sprung up next. And this time, she would be ready. No more slacking off, no more hanging towards the back to let her friends do the work. Well, okay, maybe she would stand towards the back, but only because she was a damn good shot and didn't need to be in close range to pick the bastards off. She wondered vaguely why the Z-fighters didn't just use weapons. Of course, they were far too noble to use something that would aid them in battle – they had to test themselves, to push themselves as hard as possible. To hell with their pride. She wasn't playing fair anymore. She was playing to win, by whatever means necessary.

It seemed pretty straightforward to her, really. Show up, blow their brains out, and be back home in time for dinner. Simple.

She hadn't expected to see Yorgi and Yelena in the shooting range when she got there. Yorgi was firing a Mosin Nagant at a target down range, but stopped when he saw her enter.

"What are you doing with that cheap thing?" Sabriena sneered.

"Is good gun," Yorgi answered. "Russian sniper rifle."

Yelena was sitting in a chair behind him, her left leg crossed over her new, cybernetic prosthetic leg. It was a gleaming silver with visible gears and wires that allowed smooth, flawless movement. Normally, she wore long pants to cover it up, and no one would've been the wiser about it, but she hadn't expected to see anyone and had come down to the basement in shorts and a tank. She didn't look at Sabriena and tried to slide her good leg in front of the bad one to block it from view. Cold, beautiful Yelena had always been rather vain and she despised her new leg, even though it was the absolute best that modern medical science had to offer.

"It's cheap," Sabriena said, looking back to Yorgi's rifle.

"That does not mean it a bad gun," Yorgi insisted. "Is accurate to at least five hundred meters."

"I prefer American made," she said firmly and slammed the magazine into the grip of her gun. She hooked the ear protection over her ears one-handed, then turned to aim down range.

"What're you doing?" came Tumbler's muffled voice.

She ignored him and squeezed the trigger as Loki's laughing face swam before her eyes. It was until the magazine was empty that she yanked off the ear protection and glared at Tumbler. "What?"

"The hell's gotten into you lately?" he asked. "Damn, Sabriena. We all know you have the manners of a boar hog, but that don't mean you gotta go stomping around here like you're Lara fucking Croft on a mission from hell!"

She stared calmly at him. "That was quite the mouthful."

He looked like he wanted to strangle her.

"Bri," Yorgi said in his serious tone. "What going on?"

She closed her eyes slowly, trying to calm herself. "It doesn't concern you."

Yelena raised her eyebrows and turned away.

"You tell us now," Yorgi commanded.

"I have to be ready," she said softly.

"Ready for what?" Tumbler asked, his voice softening as well.

"War."

"War?" Yorgi asked. He hadn't heard of any war coming. There were rumors, of course, of civil uprising in the US as the patriots grew tired of the constant threat of being disarmed by their government. But they were too disorganized and quarreled amongst themselves too much for anything to come to fruition. Yorgi knew that with a certainty; he'd kept a close eye on it, prepared to strike at any given moment if an opportunity of benefit presented itself.

Sabriena laid her gun on the table and leaned over it on her elbows. "I can't tell you."

"You must," Yorgi said. "If there is threat to this family, we must know."

Sabriena swallowed and opened her eyes again. "Look, do you remember the Cell Games all those years ago?"

Yorgi and Tumbler nodded. Tumbler had only been a kid at the time, thirteen or so at best, but he remembered the fear and the panic. He could still hear his mother's china breaking as it fell from the trembling walls of their home. Even here, on the opposite side of the world, they could feel the ground shaking from the impact of that battle.

"And it was Gohan who defeated him," Sabriena continued.

"Lindsey's ol' man?" Tumbler asked.

It was Sabriena's turn to nod. "Well, there have been more battles since then. Quieter ones, but just as frightening." Her voice was soft and far away, as if she was speaking at the bedside of a sick loved one. "We were taken. They said we had… powers. I didn't understand it. But it was true and we learned to use them. We fought in battle again and we won. But the leader… She wanted revenge. She kidnapped Jenny's baby, to use her because she's special. We went after her. I thought we were going to die in that place."

Yorgi and Tumbler looked at each other, speechless. Yorgi knew about the Saiyans and the Namek. He'd been able to dig up all sorts of information on them, buried in the computer files at Capsule Corp. Bulma was brilliant at protecting her information, but not good enough to keep Yorgi's employees from hacking into it. But nowhere had any of this information been present. And if it was new information, he couldn't get to it now. He had thus far been unable to find a suitable replacement for his former hacker who had gone, ahem, "missing."

"But we managed it again. We saved the baby. But it's not over. There's a war coming. And I have to be ready for it."

"Why do you have to fight?" Tumbler asked.

"Because I'm not going to let my friends die out there on their own!" she snapped, standing up straight and facing him. "I may not be able to use my powers very well, but I have the great equalizer right here!" She snatched up her sidearm and held it up.

"What powers do you speak of?" Yorgi asked, keeping his expression calm.

Sabriena stared hard at him for a minute, looking as though she wanted to scream at him. But then her hair started to lift as though a wind had caught it and the next second, her hair was shining as bright as sunlight and her eyes were a brilliant, glowing yellow. A small, glowing yellow light appeared in her hand and she threw it down range where it exploded in a shower of yellow sparks, leaving a crater the size of a beach-ball in the cement wall.

Yorgi stared at it, frowning. "How long have you been able to do this?"

"Almost two years," Sabriena answered, her hair and eyes returning to normal.

"And still you struggle in battle?"

Sabriena nodded. "I'm probably the weakest of the bunch. I haven't practiced like I should."

"And these people you fighting against, they do the same?"

"More or less," Sabriena answered. "But they're stronger."

"They not use weapons?"

She shook her head. "That's why I think I could have an advantage here. They believe in primitive ways. I think something modern could throw them off. It's not what they're expecting."

Yorgi drew a long breath through his nose and gave a sharp nod. "You practice as much as you can. When time comes, we fight with you."

"No," Sabriena answered and Yorgi gave her a fierce look. She couldn't explain to him about death and the Fates reviving him and the others. The Fates would not interfere again and if she explained about the dragonballs… She shuddered. As much as she respected Yorgi, she feared that kind of power in his hands. "I can do this on my own, Yorgi. I have to do this on my own. Please, understand."

There was a muscle working in his jaw. "I do not like idea of you going alone."

"I'll have the other girls with me," she said. "I'll be fine."

Yorgi seemed to think about it for a moment, then handed the Mosin to her.

"What do I want with this thing?" she asked, sneering at the rifle.

"Has longer range than those," he answered, nodding towards her handguns.

She sighed. "Isn't there anything else I could have?"

Yorgi set the rifle down with its stock on the toe of his boot. He looked to Tumbler. "Get a Ruger 308."

Tumbler left the range for a moment and came back with a sleek, all black rifle.

Sabriena took it in her hands and looked it over. "Bolt action," she grumbled.

"Was named rifle of the year," Yorgi said. "Is American made, like you want. Is accurate to thousand yards. It will serve you well."

Tumbler was shaking his head. "That thing is gonna kick like a mule."

Sabriena knew that by holding it. The rifle didn't weigh hardly anything, even with the high-powered scope attached. She set the handgun on the table and shouldered the rifle.

"She's gonna put another goddamn hole in that wall," Tumbler mumbled to Yorgi.

Tumbler hadn't been exaggerating. The rifle slammed into her shoulder when she squeezed the trigger, nearly knocking her flat on her ass. But it was accurate. And it was powerful.

"We run training drills," Yorgi announced after Sabriena had shot the gun a few more times. "Moving targets, distractions. Prepare you for war. And when the time comes for you to go, you be ready. You come home to us after."

Sabriena nodded her agreement as she reloaded the rifle.

After that night, she spent her every waking moment with Tumbler and Kirill, running drills. They worked outside a lot, where she'd lie flat on her stomach in the cold, hard grass, carefully aiming the rifle at big barrels set up at the bottom of the hill. Kirill was always barking corrections at her, scolding her for pulling the trigger instead of squeezing it, or for breathing improperly when taking her shot.

It irritated her; Sabriena never liked to be told she was wrong. But once she finally calmed down enough to listen, she found herself improving. She was picking empty beer bottles off the top of a tree stump from eight hundred yards. And that was nothing to laugh at.

As the days past, Sabriena grew more and more confident with her skills and was even more eager to meet Loki in battle. This time, there would be no running. This time, he was going down.


	21. Super Seventeen

"I can't do this anymore," Seventeen said, shoving himself to his feet as Snooki the cat ran across the floor, hissing and spitting, and hid under the TV stand. He glared at her. "Stupid cat."

Leelee stared up at him from her spot on the floor. "Huh?"

"I can't keep going into these fights knowing I'm not strong enough to make a difference," Seventeen answered. "What am I supposed to do? Cower behind my girlfriend?"

"Well you do like the view from back there," she giggled.

"I'm being serious, Leelee!"

She bit her lip and stopped laughing. "Well, can't you train like everyone else?"

He shook his head. "It won't do any good."

"What do you mean?" she asked, tipping her head to the side.

"Leelee, I'm an android," Seventeen answered. "I'm not just flesh and blood anymore. My power comes from the mechanical parts in my body. My power is what it is."

"Oh," she said, looking down at her lap.

Seventeen growled as he paced the room. "Brilliant doctor Gero didn't see that it was necessary for me to be able to increase my power on my own," he said sarcastically.

"On your own?" she asked, catching on that he may be hinting at something. "Is there another way for you to do it?"

Seventeen huffed. "An upgrade."

Leelee couldn't stop herself. "You want me to stop by the Apple store and buy you some more RAM?"

"Oh hardy har har," Seventeen answered dryly.

"I'm sorry, baby," she snickered. She composed her face and asked, "Do you know how to do it?"

"Yeah, I know," Seventeen answered. "I just don't know what will happen if I go through with it."

"What do you mean?"

"Doctor Gero created a second Android Seventeen," he explained. "He used cells from my body and cybernetic pieces to create, basically, a clone of me."

"Why did he do that?"

"Redundancy," Seventeen answered. "A back-up, in case something happened to me or incase he couldn't get control over me. I was… rebellious. At least, that was his plan at first. But he never activated the second one. The cells in that Android recognize me as their origin. If that Android is activated, we will fuse together as one being. Doctor Gero was afraid of that happening. It wasn't part of his plan."

"So, what would that mean for us?" she asked.

He stopped his pacing and looked at her, his hand to his chin. "I don't know."

She was trying to picture what would happen if he fused together with a clone of himself. He would probably look exactly the same, she reasoned, since he wasn't joining bodies with someone else.

"But you'd be able to split back apart, wouldn't you? Like, after the battle?"

"No. It would be a permanent transformation," he answered.

She sat silently, waiting to hear what he would say next. She didn't know what to think or feel. Could she somehow lose him in this process?

He seemed to read her thoughts. "I don't know if the other android would take over. He was not born human like me, so he may not have the same emotions or thought processes. And if I know doctor Gero, he's been programmed to do only one thing – to destroy Goku."

"So instead of helping us…"

"I could end up hurting you."

Leelee drew in a deep breath and stared at the midmorning light that streamed through the mini-blinds. She didn't want to lose him. But at the same time, she knew they needed all the help they could get.

Seventeen gritted his teeth and shook his head. "It's too risky."

"Let's go for it," she said softly.

"Huh? Leelee, didn't you hear what I just said? I don't know that I will be the one in control of that body! I could end up killing you!"

"If it's not you, I hope you do."

"Don't say things like that." He dropped to his knees beside her.

"If I don't have you, life isn't worth living," she said softly, leaning her head against his chest.

"That's it," he said firmly. "No more of that wretched Twilight series for you. It's making you all weird and sappy."

She slapped his chest, but laughed and leaned against him again. "We have to try."

"I don't know," Seventeen said uncertainly. He didn't want to give up his life, his home, his girlfriend. All of that could disappear in an instant if the other android had greater control over the new body than he did. There was no way to predict the outcome.

She sat up and took his face in her hands. "Now you made me promise the other day that we would be together forever, no matter what. And I'm not going anywhere."

"But what if I do?" he whispered.

"You'll still be in there somewhere," she said. "I'll find you."

A hope seemed to burn in Seventeen's eyes and he pulled Leelee to him, kissing her fiercely. He wanted to hang on to this moment, to remember the feel of her in his arms, the taste of her kiss, the smell of her perfume. He reluctantly broke the kiss and stared deep into her eyes. "You ready to go?"

She nodded. "I'm with you no matter what."

* * *

The air was crisp and cool as they flew to Doctor Gero's old lab. It took a couple hours, flying over cities and farmland, until they finally reached ridges of mountains. Seventeen frowned when they finally arrived at the location of Gero's laboratory. All they could see was a huge crater in the mountain where the lab used to stand.

"What happened here?" Leelee asked, hugging her arms against the cold wind.

"Trunks," Seventeen answered. He lowered to the bottom of the crater and began kicking aside big chunks of rock. "He came back and destroyed all that he could find of Gero's lab. He killed Cell when Cell was still in a fetal stage."

Leelee dropped down beside him. There was nothing but broken shards of metal, rusted wires and crumbled rock. "There's nothing left."

"Yeah, there is," Seventeen said, pushing a large stone to the side and revealing a crumpled looking metal door, set in the side of the mountain. Seventeen jumped in the air and kicked it with all his might; the door caved in and revealed a passageway behind it.

"You're so smart," Leelee gushed.

Cautiously, they made their way down the short passage until it opened up to a darkened room. Seventeen fumbled on the wall for a light switch and clicked it on. One singular, sad-looking bulb hung from a fixture and crackled to life.

Leelee gasped. "What is that?"

She pointed to a large, white container that could only be described as a rounded coffin. Wires of varying colors and sizes attached it to the surrounding walls. There was a small dome of glass near the top, which she supposed a person could look out of if they were inside it. She shivered at the thought of someone being inside that thing.

Seventeen stepped closer, wiping away the thick coating of dust that had settled on it over the years. He stared at a perfect replica of himself incased inside. He swallowed hard and turned away from it.

"Leelee," he said, stepping closer to her, "If something goes wrong… If I don't seem like myself, you get away from here. Promise?"

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving you."

"Promise me," he said fiercely.

"Okay," she said softly, staring into his pale blue eyes. "I promise."

"Those crossed fingers don't mean shit," he said and kissed her quickly. He stepped back to the side of the container and slid open the control panel. He drew a deep breath and pressed the command buttons, then backed away as the top popped open with a hiss.

Leelee was so nervous, she felt like she might get sick. The second Android Seventeen's eyes slid open and locked onto her Seventeen. He stepped out of the container and smiled.

"I always knew you'd come back for me," he said in a haunting voice.

Leelee shuddered. That voice was so like her own Seventeen's, yet it was cold and mechanical, like the speaker had no emotion at all.

"Let's get this over with," the original Seventeen said. "I don't have time for chit-chat."

The second Seventeen gave an emotionless smile. "As you wish." His eyes began to glow red as he continued to smile. "We are one. We have always been one."

Seventeen's pale blue eyes turned the same shocking red and he seemed entranced. "Yes. I see that now," he answered in the same haunting, mechanical voice.

Both Seventeens rose about a foot in the air and their bodies began to glow with a brilliant golden light. They drew near each other, their eyes locked, and the light around them grew so bright, Leelee had to shield her eyes. When she opened them again, both of the androids she knew were gone.

Standing as still as a statue was a new android she'd never seen before. He was taller, much taller, than her old Seventeen. He looked like an older version of himself, with a longer face and long, silky black hair. His muscular shoulders were rounded and showed through cut-outs in his tight dark blue shirt. His jeans could've been painted on, they were so tight and showed every defined muscle in his long legs. He was gorgeous in every sense of the word. Even Trunks' good looks paled in comparison.

"S-Seventeen?" Leelee squeaked.

He turned slowly towards her, blinking without any recognition on his face.

"It's me," she said, taking a nervous step forward. "It's Leelee."

His pale blue eyes narrowed slightly. He was so intimidating and alluring at the same time. He fixed her with that intense stare, holding her gaze and he took a step towards her. She froze in her tracks, not sure if she should prepare to swing at him or rip his clothes off. He was standing over her, a good head taller than she was now, and slowly his hand reached up to grab her throat. Her knees shook as his hand closed tighter around her throat, restricting her air.

"Seventeen," she whimpered. This wasn't her Seventeen. Her Seventeen wouldn't hurt her. The tips of his fingers worked up to the hinge of her jaw, forcing her mouth open. He leaned closer and slowly covered her mouth with his, his tongue probing her mouth in a long, slow kiss. Her heart raced as butterflies erupted in her stomach. She was terrified and turned on all at the same time. He slowly pulled back from the kiss, lightly biting her lower lip as he did so, and smiled.

"Gotcha," he whispered.

"Seventeen?" she gasped as he threw his head back and laughed. "Is it really you? Oh, you big JERK! You scared the shit outta me!"

"Oh, Leelee, you're so easy to get to," he smiled. His voice was a bit lower than it had been before, but his eyes held a dancing amusement and she knew it was really him.

"You're gonna make it up to me," she said, grabbing his belt and unfastening it. "You're going to make it up to me right now!"

He grabbed her hands in a powerful grip to stop her. "I'm not making love to you here."

"Making love?" she snorted as her hands trembled with an excitement she could barely comprehend. "No. You are going to _fuck _me. In every which way possible."

"Did I really change that much?" he asked, trying to look himself over.

"Oh my fucking god, yes," she hissed, throwing herself against him again, kissing him roughly and running her hands over his muscular arms.

"Okay, okay, okay," he laughed. "Let's go home. And then I'll give you anything you want."

Leelee was breathing so hard, she thought she could get off just by staring at him. "Yes you will. Oh my god, yes you will."

He laughed and led her out of the tunnel they'd entered through and took to the sky, heading for home.


	22. Astral Projection

Leelee was beyond flustered by the time they got back to the apartment. Her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding in her ears. She'd never seen a man so deliciously perfect as her Seventeen. She nearly broke the key in the lock, trying to get through the door, and he calmly placed his hand over hers and did it for her. Just watching him insert the key into the lock made her knees shake again. They entered the apartment together and she kept slicking her braids out of her hair, looking at him, then trying to catch her breath.

"Leelee," he said calmly in his new, lower voice. "It's just me."

"I… I know," she panted. She bit her lip and stared at him, her insides turning to a burning mush.

"Look. Why don't you go take a hot shower and calm down a bit, okay? I'll be waiting right here for you. Just take a deep breath. It's going to be okay."

"Okay," she breathed. "Okay, okay, okay." She kept repeating it over and over as she walked to the bathroom.

Seventeen smirked and looked at his reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall. "Hot damn," he muttered. "I did change." He admired himself for a minute and smirked. "Eat your heart out, Trunks."

He moved to sit on the couch and Snooki raised her back and hissed at him.

"You goddamn stupid cat," he muttered. "It's just me!"

Snooki spat at him and dove under the couch.

Sighing and rolling his eyes, he dropped to his knees to look for her. She yowled at him again. But there was something else under the couch that caught his eye. It was small and flat, lying under the couch with a bit of cat hair stuck to the top of it. It had obviously been there for awhile. He grabbed it and brushed it off, flipping it over in his hand. It was one of the books Lindsey had brought by that first afternoon. Obviously it fell under the couch when he knocked the stack over and he hadn't realized it.

"Magickal Sex?" he asked, reading the title aloud to himself. "Oh, this has gotta be good." He sat on the couch and flipped the book open, quickly scanning the pages. That was one of the brilliant parts about being an android. He could simply scan his eyes over a page or a website and instantly retain all the information contained there.

While he thought a bunch of the book was rubbish, he couldn't help but be intrigued by the notion of using sex to enhance a person's magickal energy. If Leelee had been able to have that vision a few months back, before she had even been working with Jenny. With as excited as she was now, could he help her to have another vision? Possibly one that was even stronger and more vivid than before? After all, that was the reason he'd decided to fuse. It would certainly help to see if they could get more information on their enemies.

Seventeen heard the shower stop and the bathroom door open. He turned to see Leelee walking slowly towards him, wearing nothing but her bright red stiletto heels.

"Oh wow," he breathed, setting the book on the coffee table.

"What'cha readin'?" she asked.

"I… uh…" he swallowed. "I was reading about sex magick."

She blinked at him. "Oh really?"

He nodded. "You remember your vision?"

She nodded.

"I think we could make you have another one," he grinned. "All we have to do is let the magickal energy build up between us. If you can concentrate on having another vision, it could send you into a really powerful, vivid one."

An excited light touched Leelee's eyes. "Let's do it."

"You took the words right out of my mouth, baby."

He stood and peeled his shirt off, revealing the rounded muscles of his chest, the flat muscles on his stomach, and the deeply cut V of his hip lines.

"Ohhhhh my god," Leelee whispered in a shaking voice. "I… I can't help it. I have to."

She dropped to her knees in front of him and tore the belt from his waist. He smiled down at her as she yanked his tight jeans down and moaned at the sight of his erection. He was longer and thicker than before. This was no time for being coy. Leelee grabbed his hard length in one hand and wrapped her lips around him, quickly drawing him deep into her mouth. She wanted him so bad in that moment, she'd do anything to prove to him how much she deserved to be fucked by him.

She slid her tongue up and down his shaft, making his legs tremble as he moaned deep in his throat. Good God, she was enthusiastic. Her mouth was so warm as it sucked and pulled at him. He had to focus though. This was about her getting where she needed to be. This was more than sex. This was important and he wanted to do it right. He grabbed her by the jaw and slowly withdrew from her mouth as she smacked her lips.

"Your turn," he said seductively as he pulled her to her feet.

He kissed his way down her body, stopping to tease and lick at her nipples, working his way down. He knelt on the floor in front of her, just as she had for him. His hands slid around the backs of her thighs to keep her from squirming away from him. He smiled to himself as his eyes raked her body – she'd shaved in the shower and every single inch of her body was smooth as silk. He pressed his lips to the V between her legs, teasing her as she gasped for air and grabbed his silky black hair in her hands. He kissed her there again, opening his mouth slightly this time, breathing heat over her most sensitive spot. She hissed and tangled her fingers tighter into his hair. He opened his mouth wider and slid his tongue between her legs, making her cry out in pleasure. His mouth was so hot on her, his tongue flicking against her body, making her burn from the inside out. His strong hands gripped her just under her butt, pulling her closer against his face as he hungrily lapped at her body. His whole mouth captured her, sucking her gently, then harsher, pulling the small, sensitive flesh into his mouth. He held it gently between his teeth and rapidly flicked the tip of his tongue over it.

"Oh, fuck," she whined and looked down at him.

His amazingly pale blue eyes stared up at her with a satisfied glint. He closed his eyes and moaned against her body, sending a chill up her spine. He grabbed her ass with both hands and pulled her harder against his face. He leaned slightly back and moved his knees under her long legs, burying his face deeper into her body. She gasped as she felt his tongue slide into her, drinking her in. She pulled at his hair, grinding herself against his face as he moaned with excitement. She couldn't wait to feel him slide into her. With a fluid movement, Seventeen stood, catching Leelee's knees with his shoulders, lifting her up, but never pulling his mouth from her body as he continued to ravish her. She was forced to grab the back of his neck to keep her balance, still moaning as he licked and sucked at her, driving her mad. The next thing she knew, he had her pinned against the wall, sucking at her so hard, she thought she was going to come already.

"Seventeen… I… I'm…"

He pulled his mouth away and smiled. "Not yet."

"Wha?" she whimpered.

He let her slide down the wall to stand in front of him. "You have to concentrate, remember?"

Concentrate. Like fuck she could concentrate right now.

One hand on the wall, he moved his other between her legs, rubbing her with the tips of his fingers. She thrust her hips against his hand, wanting them inside her. They twirled and flicked over her, making her pant.

"You taste soooo sweet," he purred into her ear.

He moved his hand further between her legs, the tips of his fingers right at the opening to her body. She tried to grind on them, to pull them into her, but he kept them just close enough to make her want it even more. His whole hand grabbed at her, rubbing his palm against her clit while his fingers barely slid into her body. "Are you concentrating?" he asked devilishly.

"No," she panted, her only thoughts were of his hand deliciously tormenting her body.

He withdrew his hand and met her eyes. "You'd better start."

"Seventeen!" she protested, grabbing his wrist and trying to pull his hand back to her.

"Nope," he said. "Now do your magick conjur-whatever."

She huffed at him, but stated loudly, "I summon the spirits of the North, by the power of Earth! Aid us in our magickal rite!"

He smiled. "That's better." He slid his hands between her legs again, slowly rubbing against the wetness there as she shivered and tried to continue.

"I summon the sp-spirits of the East, by the p-power of Air! Aid us in our m-magickal rite!" She was gasping and panting, looking up at the ceiling as he slid his fingers slightly inside her, teasing her, rubbing against the warmth her found there.

"I… I summon the… ah… spirits of the… the South, by the powers… uhhh… of fire! Aid us in our magickal rite!"

His fingers were deeper inside her now, plunging into her over and over, his hand dripping wet as she responded to his touch. He was growing harder as he felt how hot and wet she was. Her body tensed around his fingers and he wanted nothing more than to drive himself into her and feel that slick, wet heat around his throbbing shaft.

"Mmmm…. I… summon… the spirits… of the… _West_," she whimpered, "by the powers of… ohhhhh… water! Aid us in our magickal rite!"

His fingers were so deep inside her, flicking back and forth within her body. It was torturous heaven.

"Goddess… hear me! Ahhhhh… Bless our union with… mmmmm… the gift of sight… So… mote… it be!"

"Can I fuck you now?" he breathed heavily. She had barely nodded when he grabbed her by the hips and lifted her against the wall, the tip of his shaft pressing against her body. She shivered in anticipation as she felt how hard and thick he was. He slowly slid into her, stretching her around him.

Leelee whined in pleasure as he filled her completely. "Holy shit," she hissed.

He groaned deep in his throat. "Baby, you're so tight on my cock."

"It's… so big," she whispered.

"Am I too big now?" he smirked.

She shook her head. "NO."

"Then take all of it," he said, suddenly thrusting the rest of the way into her.

She screamed as he pressed deeper inside her than she ever thought was possible. "Oh, fuck! It hurts so good."

"I love it when you say that," he grinned and began to withdraw slowly. He was nearly all the way out of her body when he slammed into her again, making her cry out once more. Over and over, he drove himself into her, always pulling out excruciatingly slow, then thrusting so hard and fast into her that it slammed her back against the wall with a shuddering force. She was wrapped so tight around him, the heat and wet from her body sliding down his shaft… He was breathing heavily, trying to keep from truly hurting her. He could've absolutely ravished her body, pushing her to a breaking point, but he wanted to watch her writhe and scream in pleasure.

"Let me fuck you," she whispered.

He held her by her hips and backed away from the wall, thrusting shallowly into her as he held her weight in his strong arms, the muscles in his arms tight. She trailed her nails over his rounded shoulders, down the line of his bicep, leaving goosebumps in their wake. He quickly thrust into her, his pace incredibly fast, his panting heavier.

"Dammit," she hissed. "I wanna ride your cock. Now lay down!"

He smiled as he slowed his pace again. "I love it when you tell me what to do."

"Good," she said, taking on an air of superiority. "Lay… the fuck… down."

He purposely hit the floor hard, bringing her sharply down over him with the impact, and she screamed again. He laughed.

She grabbed his silky hair again at the base of his skull and yanked it harshly back, tipping his chin up at her. She sneered. "You think that's funny?"

He smirked.

Still pulling his hair, she bounced on his shaft, making him suck in air between clenched teeth. "I said, you think that's funny?"

"No," he whispered.

"Good," she said, releasing his hair and shoving him by the shoulders to lie flat on the floor. She raked her nails harshly over his chest, digging them in harder as they ran over his nipples, making him groan. "Oh, you like that?"

His panting was answer enough for her. She lowered her head to his chest, slowly circling the taut, sensitive flesh with her tongue. She flicked her tongue over it as he arched his back and grabbed her hips, thrusting into her again. She moaned as she closed her lips over it, her other hand clawing at his muscular chest. She nipped at him with her teeth and he yelled out.

The air around them was growing heavy. It seemed to have a life of its own as it pressed in on them, swirling gently around them as their pleasure grew.

She sat up, running her hands over the flat muscles of his stomach and began to grind on him. The hard muscle of his lower stomach ground against the outside of her body as his hard shaft filled her, stretched her, making her ache inside. She barely had to bounce on him to feel how deep he was inside her. It was so much pleasure, on the edge of pain, as she pressed lower over him, determined to take him completely into her body. He was groaning and thrusting his hips up, driving into her heat, sweat breaking out over his body.

"Fuck me," he moaned. "Come on, baby, fuck me."

She bounced harder, growling deep in her throat at the feel of him. "You're sooo big," she whined. "So thick. Mmmm… you make me feel so good."

He grinned, his pale blue eyes flashing. "You're so good, baby," he answered, grabbing her hips and pulling her down harder over him. "So hot and wet on my cock."

Leelee threw her head back and closed her eyes. Nothing drove her wild like hearing the dirty words from his mouth. She ground harder on him, rubbing herself against him, feeling his shaft delve deeper into her.

He was growling in his throat, pulling her down over him as hard as he could, biting his lip as he watched her breasts bounce with every movement. He sat up suddenly, grabbing her breast, and covered it harshly with his mouth.

"Suck it," she whispered through clenched teeth.

His mouth pulled at her, his tongue lapping over her as she moaned.

"Harder," she demanded. She bounced faster on him, feeling herself growing closer to climax. The air was really heavy on them now, there was a shimmering quality to it, pressing in on their bodies as they ravished each other. He tangled his fingers in her braids and pulled back, forcing her face towards the ceiling as she screamed again.

"You like that?" he whispered against her breast.

"Uh-huh," she panted.

"Tell me how good I am," he said.

"You're… you're amazing," she answered, bouncing harder, wanting it more.

"You like it when I fuck you?"

"Yessss," she hissed. "I want it all the time. I want you to fuck me as hard as you want. Whenever you want. You can do anything to me, baby."

"Anything?"

"Mm-hmm."

She suddenly felt herself flat on her back, his tall, muscular form over her. He grinned. He grabbed her by the knees, spreading her legs further apart, and drove himself into her as hard as he could.

Leelee gasped and her eyes went wide. Holy shit.

He did it again and again, slamming his throbbing shaft into her fiery wetness, both of them shouting in pleasure, demanding more from each other. She tensed her muscles, tightening around him, determined to make him come harder than he ever had before.

"Oh, fuck, Leelee," he groaned as he felt her clench around him.

"Fuck me hard," she ordered, her hands on his shoulders, screaming over and over as he plunged into her.

She couldn't take it. The heavy, glistening air seemed to be absorbing into her body, heightening every sensation. He'd never felt so big inside her before, so deliciously hard and thick. The scent of his body wafted over her, making her want him more. Their bodies slid against each other, both covered in a sheen of sweat as they pushed each other more, simultaneously trying to drive the other into pure bliss, while also wanting it more and more for themselves. It was building, Leelee could feel the incredibly intense orgasm hitting her, setting her every nerve on fire.

"OH, FUCK YES! FUCK… ME!" she screamed as her body tensed and convulsed around his driving shaft. Her eyes rolled back as the magick swooped in on her, intensifying it, making her scream at the top of her lungs. He was still slamming into her, desperately working towards his own release, prolonging her climax to the point where she wanted to scream at him to stop, it was too much, she couldn't handle it as she felt him explode inside her, his shaft spilling hotly into her as his body trembled over her…

And then there she was. All the blissful sensation seemed to stop. She blinked at her surroundings. The apartment was gone. Seventeen was gone. She was standing, barefoot again, in the middle of a grassy field. The grass was cold and crisp against her feet. There was a slight breeze that left goosebumps along her skin. The edges of the field were lined with thick trees and brush; behind that stood a tall mountain ridge. It looked very much like the area Loki had been indicating on the map in her last vision.

The vision! That's what was happening.

She could hear voices in the trees and she ran towards them, eager to hear what they were saying before her vision ended. It was so real, the cold wind, the sharp grasses under her feet, the way she had to draw deep breaths as she ran. She crashed through the trees, unconcerned with making noise or getting scratched up. It was just a vision, after all, like a lucid dream. She stumbled through the brush until she broke the other side of the tree line.

This wasn't the same camp she'd been in before. This looked more like a workshop area, with square, open-fronted tents. There was a blacksmith forging what appeared to be some sort of weapon, but it was still in too crude of condition to be able to tell what it may become. Another tent had huge, thick straps of leather coiled up so tall, they could've reached Leelee's waist. She wrinkled her nose at them, wondering what on earth they could be for.

It didn't take her long to figure it out. Stretched out nearby on the ground was what could only be described as a huge horse bridle. The reins were twenty feet long at least and the bits were spiked. What on earth would take such controlling, she didn't want to know.

An ear-shattering roar rent the air, followed by cries of terrified men. Leelee hurried up the path between the blacksmiths and tanners until she reached the base of the mountain. Men were fleeing from it, shouting in a language she didn't recognize.

"Sanath! Do something!" Nyx screamed.

The Shaman stood with his hands outstretched. "I'm trying!" He kicked at the girl sitting in the dirt near him. "Give me a hand!"

Enye looked up at him with her dirty, tear-streaked face. "I will not."

He growled and turned his attention back to the creature before him.

Leelee gasped and fell backwards. Vegeta had been wrong about the great apes. So very, very wrong.

Nyx's head whipped around, and she grinned at Leelee.

"Well, this makes my job easier," she smiled.

Leelee didn't move. She barely dared to breathe. The last time she'd had a vision, no one could see her.

"I see you, you stupid girl," Nyx hissed.

"I…"

"Learning astral projection, I see," Nyx said in a scathing voice, sweeping Leelee up and down with her eyes. "Impressive."

Leelee slowly got to her feet. "What do you want?"

Nyx grinned. "I want you to deliver a message," she said, wrinkling her nose slightly. "In two days time, at sunset, I want you to bring your best fighters and meet us in that clearing."

"T-Two days?" Leelee stammered.

"I didn't falter over my words, girl."

"But where are we?"

"At the base of Mount Hiei. Two days from now, you understand?" Nyx asked.

"And what if we don't come?" Leelee asked.

"Then we will pick you off, one by one, starting with the weakest members of your families. We will make them suffer in such a way that you cannot even begin to fathom the horror they will endure. You cannot stop us. Either face us like the brave warriors you claim to be, or we will maim, rape, and kill everything and everyone in our path to you. It's your decision."

Leelee's heart was pounding in her chest. "We'll fight you."

Nyx grinned wickedly. "Good."

Leelee gave the creature another terrified glance as its wild eyes rolled in its head, the big leather straps lashing out at it, trying to subdue it. She felt the vision fading, the senses of the apartment around her again.

Seventeen was lying on her chest, sweating and panting. He kissed her stomach. "You are so fucking amazing."

She blinked. "Huh?"

He sat up and narrowed his eyes at her. "You okay?"

She shook her head, pushing herself up with her arms outstretched behind her. She peered up at the gorgeous naked man before her. "It worked."

"The vision? Did you have another one?" he asked, nearly breathless.

She nodded. "Seventeen, we have to warn the others!" she cried, pushing herself to her feet and running to grab fresh clothes.

He got up and followed her, quickly pulling on his jeans. "What did you see? What's going on?"

"We don't have much time!" she wailed, hooking her bra and pulling on a red top. "And Vegeta was so fucking wrong!"

"It's not great apes, is it?" Seventeen asked, tucking his shirt in.

"No."

"What is it?"

Leelee fixed him with a hard stare. "Dragons."


	23. Too Soon

"No! What're you doing?! What? AUGH!"

"Are you blind?!"

"Oh, come ON!"

Gohan, Trunks, and Goku were sitting in the living room, taking a break from their training to yell angrily at their favorite soccer team on the TV. Gohan was so into it that when his phone rang he barely glanced at it, saw Seventeen, and hit ignore, tossing it on the table.

"Who was that?" Goku asked.

Gohan gave a dismissive wave. "I'll call him back." He sat on the edge of the couch, leaning towards the TV. "How could you miss that?!" he proclaimed, throwing his arms out towards the television in shock.

"Idiots," Trunks growled, slumping back in the recliner.

The phone rang again as a player from their team pulled a spectacular move, swinging the game in their favor. Goku and Trunks roared happily as Gohan picked up his phone again.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Wait, what? Hold on, Seventeen, I can't hear you." He looked at Trunks and his dad. "Would you two knock it off?" He grabbed the remote and clicked the TV off.

"Hey!" Goku protested.

"Sorry Seventeen, now what's up?"

Lindsey came thundering down the stairs. "Hey Gohan! Are you-" but she broke off when she realized he was on the phone and looked serious. She looked questioningly to Goku, but he shrugged and shook his head.

"Again? But how?... Oh wow. Well, that's one way to do it… Can't you just tell me over the phone?... It's that bad, huh? Oh… OH. We'll meet you at the Lookout! Yup. Bye." Gohan seemed to get more concerned as the short conversation went on. He shoved his phone in his pocket and sat down on the couch to pull on his boots. "We gotta go, guys."

"Gohan, what's going on?" Goku asked.

"Leelee had another vision," Gohan answered, pulling his second boot on. "We have to meet them at the Lookout. NOW."

Goku and Trunks grabbed their shoes from by the front door and hastily pulled them on.

"Did he tell you anything else?" Goku asked, bent double, trying his shoes.

"No," Gohan answered. "Lindsey! Go get your shoes on! We gotta go!"

She blinked and quickly grabbed up her own shoes. "Sorry, I zoned out."

"You've been doing that a lot lately," Gohan said. "You feeling okay?"

"Just… a little scatterbrained," she answered.

"All right, we ready?" Goku asked, straightening up.

They nodded and stepped closer to him, placing their hands on his shoulders as he pressed two fingers to his forehead. In an instant, the living room vanished and they were standing on the bright white tile of the Lookout. They were the first to arrive and they hurried through the Lookout to Piccolo's bedroom where Jenny was napping quietly in bed.

"Aww, look at her," Goku grinned. "How much longer does she have?"

"About seven weeks," Piccolo answered in a hushed tone. "I was just getting ready to wake her up."

But Trunks had already walked to her side and brushed a few long pieces of hair from her face. He'd missed seeing her the past couple months. He had gotten so used to her stopping by to check on him that he was really bummed when her visits had to stop. "Wake up, sis," he smiled.

She sleepily opened her eyes. "Trunks!" she gasped and hugged his neck tightly. "Oh, I missed you!"

He chuckled. "I missed you, too."

She broke away from him to look into his brilliant blue eyes. "You doing okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm all right."

"Sorry I couldn't come check on you," she said, sitting up straighter in bed. "Doctor's orders."

"Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"Oh yeah," she answered. "I'm off bed rest now, but you know…" she yawned, "I just get so tired."

"Hey girly," Lindsey smiled.

Jenny grinned when she saw Lindsey and Gohan standing there. "Hey guys." She hissed in pain and poked at her stomach. "Stoppit, you mean lil bugger."

Goku was grinning. "Baby kicking you?"

She nodded. "Mean baby," she growled at her stomach.

"Can… Can I?" Goku asked stepping closer.

"Sure," she smiled and grabbed his wrist, placing his hand on her belly.

"Oh wow," he grinned. "This one's gonna be a fighter. What a kick!"

Piccolo couldn't help but smile slightly at Goku's reaction. Strongest fighter in the world he may be, but the simplest things could still amaze him.

"Hey, Lins, you wanna-" But Goku stopped himself and looked back to his own hands, his lips turning down slightly in a frown.

"Yes, I wanna feel," she said, crawling into bed next to Jenny and putting her hands on Jenny's belly, too. She smiled. "That's so cool. What does it feel like from the inside?"

"Like a little monster trying to get out," Jenny laughed. She wiggled her fingers at Lindsey, "like little creepy aliens trying to break your ribs from the inside!"

"You are so weird," Lindsey said, staring wide-eyed at Jenny, who laughed. Lindsey withdrew her hands and a sad smile pulled at the corner of her lips. She sighed, then leaned against Jenny's shoulder. "Snuggles."

Jenny giggled and threw her arm around Lindsey's shoulders, pulling her close as Lindsey curled up next to her. She reached out with her hand again and rubbed Jenny's belly. "Hi, baby."

"Remember we used to do this?" Jenny asked. "We'd get all freaked out in the middle of the night and sneak into each other's rooms?"

Lindsey giggled. "I swore there was a troll in that closet. I just knew it."

Gohan snickered, "When was this? When you guys were little or something?"

"No," Jenny said slowly, "It was like… three years ago."

"Oh dear lord."

"Hey! It could get creepy there at night," Lindsey said defensively. She snuggled closer to Jenny, who squeezed her shoulders and planted a big kiss on the top of her head. "Loves you," Lindsey said softly.

"Love you too, chica," Jenny answered. "No matter how weird you are."

"I'm not the weird one."

"We're here," Leelee's voice called as she and Seventeen walked into the room.

"What on earth happened to you?" Trunks gasped.

Seventeen smirked. "I had a little upgrade."

"I'll say!" Goku said, getting to his feet again. "You look ready for a fight!"

Lindsey and Jenny looked up at Seventeen and gasped. Leelee grinned at them.

Lindsey licked her lips and slid out of Jenny's bed. "Wow, Seventeen," she said. "You… ah… wow. Just wow. Yeah."

He wrinkled his nose at her and chuckled. Something about the way his friend's wife was looking at him, her cheeks burning pink, made his ego inflate.

Gohan cocked his eyebrow and pulled her to the side of the room. "Could ya drool over him a little more?"

"I'm not drooling!" she protested, wiping at her mouth, just to make sure. "He looks nice. I was just trying to compliment him."

Jenny had gotten out of bed, proclaiming that she needed to use the bathroom and she slapped Seventeen's ass on the way by.

"There was a fly on your pocket," she claimed and walked out of the room, marveling at the brief moment her hand had been on him.

Leelee laughed as Seventeen blushed and Piccolo scowled.

"Now that was genius!" Lindsey proclaimed loudly. "All I do is stutter like I'm stupid."

"What has gotten into you girls?" Goku asked obliviously.

"Have you seen him?" Leelee asked, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at her boyfriend. "Nuns would tear their clothes off for this man."

Gohan pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek. "Gonna give us a run for our girls, now, huh?" he joked.

"Yes," Seventeen answered. "And I'm pretty sure that's a race I can win."

Trunks snorted in laughter as Gohan rolled his eyes but said, "Seriously, buddy, good job. Whatever you did, ya look great and you look like you're ready to kick some ass."

Seventeen gave a genuine smile and nodded.

Jenny returned a few moments later and feigned tripping, miraculously skirting around Gohan and grabbing onto Seventeen's arm for balance.

"Jenny, sit down," Piccolo growled.

She still had a hold of Seventeen's wrist and he took her hand to help her sit on the foot of the bed. When he released her, she looked at Lindsey and mouthed, "Never washing this hand again."

Lindsey flipped her off.

Leelee inched sideways around the room to whisper in Lindsey's ear. "Fifty bucks and I'll let you grab his ass with both hands."

"Deal," Lindsey whispered back.

Piccolo's ears twitched. "You know, Leelee, for someone who just had a life-altering vision, you seem to be in very good spirits."

"I," she hesitated, "can't help it."

Gohan snickered. Seventeen had told him, however briefly, just how Leelee had been able to have her vision again.

"Nevermind," Piccolo said. "I don't think I want to know."

"I do," Jenny insisted.

"We, uh… well," Leelee could feel her face getting hot.

"Mindblowing sex," Seventeen said simply.

"You had a vision during sex?" Jenny gasped, impressed.

Leelee giggled nervously. "Maybe."

Piccolo covered his face with both hands. "Didn't need to know that part."

The other Z-Fighters arrived quickly; Catie and Vegeta entered a short time later, Vegeta slamming into Catie's back as she hit the brakes to stare at Seventeen.

"Hey Cat," he grinned at her.

"Hello, tall, dark, mysterious, sexy stranger," she answered breathlessly. Her chest visibly lifted and fell as she breathed, raking him with her eyes.

It had been funny when Jenny and Lindsey did it, but Trunks felt like punching Seventeen now.

"Oh, so the android got a new chassis, huh?" Vegeta growled.

"Something like that," Seventeen said, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Catie's eyes went wide. "Seventeen?! I didn't even recognize you!" She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

He grinned and squeezed her back. Oh, this was fun. He knew he shouldn't be reveling in all this attention from the girls, but he couldn't stop himself. It was far too much fun and too big of a boost to his confidence.

Something flamed in Leelee at the sight of her boyfriend hugging her friend and she had the sudden urge to strip him naked again and throw him on Jenny's bed. She bit her bottom lip, staring at him.

"Earth to Leelee," Lindsey whispered softly in her ear.

"Sorry," Leelee whispered back. "That man brings out my inner whore."

"I can see why," Lindsey giggled. "Oh, I bet he's good."

"You have no idea. He's even bigger now," Leelee breathed back so quietly Lindsey barely heard her. "You should've seen it. I could suck and –"

"NOW THAT EVERYONE'S HERE," Piccolo stated loudly, cutting off the rest of Leelee's sentence. He already had far too descriptive of an image in his head and he didn't need any more whisperings from Leelee to finish it out. He suppressed the urge to shudder. He did not want to think about Leelee, or anyone else for that matter, like that. "Why don't you tell us what you saw?"

* * *

"Dragons?!" Vegeta growled at the end of her story. "But I thought there was only one dragon!"

"Yeah, Shenlong," Goku added. "I didn't know others existed."

"I don't think these are the same types of dragons," Catie said. "These sound more like just wild animals. I doubt they have the ability to speak like the eternal dragon does."

"How much time do we have left?" Piccolo asked.

Leelee swallowed. This was the part she'd been dreading. "Two days."

There was a collective shout of outrage.

"Under the full moon," Lindsey said quietly. "The full moon's in two days. Have any of you heard about the moon affecting dragons?"

There was silence for a minute as some of them shook their heads.

"So what do we do?" Trunks asked. "We don't have a choice; we have to fight them. Do we spend the next two days training like mad?"

"Yes," Vegeta growled, but Goku grinned and said, "Nope."

"Oh here we go again," Vegeta huffed.

"We're not training anymore?" Lindsey asked.

Goku smiled at her. "Nope. Sorry, kiddo. We're taking the next two days off. Two days isn't going to make a big difference and we should spend this time with our loved ones. You never know. This might be our last chance to be together."

Lindsey stepped closer to Gohan and slid her hand into his. She didn't want to go through that again. Trunks was staring at the floor, the corners of his mouth twitching, refusing to look at Catie. Catie's expression was of calm resolve, like she was prepared to fight, and die, to protect her friends.

"Hey, Lins," Goku said, "Shouldn't we get Sabriena? I mean, she'll want to fight too, won't she?"

"Oh," Lindsey said, blinking. "She might. I guess I can call her."

* * *

Sabriena sleepily grabbed her phone and answered it. "Hello?"

"The war is coming," Lindsey spoke cryptically.

"No shit," Sabriena growled.

"In two days," Lindsey explained.

"But… I thought we had at least a year! It hasn't been a year yet!" Sabriena exclaimed, sitting up in bed and shoving her glasses on her face. "What time is it? You bitch. It's four in the morning."

"No, it's afternoon."

"Time zones, dumbass. Time zones."

"Oh," Lindsey said. "Well you need to get yourself together. I'll send Goku to get you in about thirty minutes."

"Fine," Sabriena yawned and hung up the phone. She grabbed the big bag of ammunition she'd already packed and heaved it onto the bed. Goku was going to carry that when he got there; it was far too heavy for her to carry very far. She packed her designer suitcase quickly and dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, not bothering to put in her contacts or fix her hair. She set her custom handguns in her suitcase and zipped it shut, slung her rifle over her back, then grabbed up the two bags and drug them down to the formal sitting room to wait. She had just dozed off in the chair next to the fireplace when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder.

"Hiya," Goku grinned, gently shaking her shoulder. "You ready to go?"

She yawned deeply and nodded, getting to her feet. Goku grabbed up her bags without realizing what all she had packed there. "Good grief, did you pack bricks?" he laughed.

"Yes," she answered dryly. 'Bricks of ammo,' she thought to herself.

"Okay, just grab on to me and hold on tight," Goku smiled.

In one split instant of exhausted madness, she was tempted to grab his ass, just to see the look on his face. But she stopped herself in time and latched onto his elbow. One second she was standing in the warm darkness next to a crackling fireplace, the next she was in bright sunlight in the cold wind. She hissed and covered her eyes.

Goku laughed. "Come on. The girls miss you."

She followed him into Jenny's room and shrieked happily when she saw the girls. She hugged each of them in turn. Lindsey's eyes went wide at the firearm lying on top of Sabriena's bags. "Ooooo!" she cried and picked it up.

Sabriena smirked. "Yeah, I thought you'd like that."

"Where'd that come from?!" Goku cried.

"You carried it in for me," Sabriena answered.

"I did? I didn't even see it!"

"Is it loaded?" Lindsey asked, picking it up and marveling at its light weight.

"Yes," Sabriena answered.

Lindsey clicked the safety off and slid the bolt back, kicking a gold-colored bullet to the floor and then slammed it back in place, chambering the next round. She shouldered it and dropped to one knee, looking out the bedroom door through the scope. "Leopold?" she asked.

"Yup," Sabriena answered.

"Nice scope," she said.

"Gimme," Jenny said, walking over and grabbing the stock of the gun. Lindsey stood and released the gun as Jenny looked it over.

"What are you doing?!" Piccolo and Vegeta shouted in unison.

"Looking at a gun," Jenny said calmly. Like Lindsey, she shouldered it and dropped to her knee to get a better aim out the door to see clearly through the scope. She admired it for a moment before handing it back to Sabriena. "Why'd you bring this with you? I mean, it's a nice rifle, but why?" She reached up and grabbed onto Lindsey's arm to pull herself back to her feet.

"Well, nobody's taken a shot at these fuckers, so I thought, why the hell not?"

Vegeta was staring at her as if she's just pronounced him the queen of England. "You cannot be serious."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Why not? I'm out for blood. To hell with the rules and to hell with them, especially Loki. I've had enough of this shit. I'm putting an end to it. This time, I'm blowing brains out."

"Well, it's an interesting approach," Gohan said, nervously scratching the back of his neck.

"Fool," Vegeta spat. "You honestly think you're going to accomplish something with that?"

"Couldn't hurt to try," she sneered, hugging her gun closer. "I didn't see you doing so hot fighting them. Don't judge me."

"It's something we've never tried, that's for sure," Goku laughed.

"Is this amusing to you, Kakarot?" Vegeta demanded.

"Yeah, a little," Goku answered.

"I've had enough," Vegeta growled. "Come on, Catherine. We're going home. We'll see you lot in two days."

"Come by and see me!" Catie grinned to Sabriena as she followed Vegeta out of the Lookout.

"I will!" Sabriena promised.

"Let's head home," Gohan said. "Sabriena, you staying with us again?"

She nodded. "If that's okay."

Jenny hugged Sabriena tightly. "I'm so glad to see you again. Come visit me before the fight, okay?"

"You bet," Sabriena yawned. "I need a nap, though."

"Me too," Jenny answered, yawning. "Dammit. That's contagious."

Sabriena giggled, then headed out with Lindsey and Gohan, hollering at Goku to bring her bags.

* * *

"I wanna shoot it! I wanna shoot it! I wanna shoot it!" Lindsey cried, snatching the rifle and running across the lawn as soon as they got to her house.

"Do you even know what you're doing?!" Gohan cried, chasing after her.

Goku, Trunks, and Sabriena sighed and followed them around the edge of the house. Lindsey had grabbed some empty soda cans and set them up at the edge of the yard.

"Seriously, do you know how to shoot a gun?" Gohan asked. He'd never seen his wife handle a firearm before.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Are you serious? Stand back. Watch mama work."

She drew on the cans and squeezed the trigger. She hit her mark, but dropped the butt of the gun to her toe, crying loudly, "OUCH."

"It's got a bit of a kick to it," Sabriena said in a dull tone.

"Yeah, no shit!" Lindsey answered, massaging her shoulder.

"Let me try it," Trunks said, stepping forward. "I've never shot a gun before." Lindsey roughly handed it to him and walked over to Sabriena.

"You should'a been a better shot with that," Sabriena chastised. "You were taught better."

"It's been a minute," Lindsey hissed, still rubbing at her shoulder. "I'm not used to long-range rifles, okay? At least I hit it."

Sabriena snorted.

Goku tipped his head to the side, watching Trunks look the gun over. "You girls really like this sort of thing?"

"'Mericans," they muttered together.

"Lindsey should be the best shot, seeing as how she's a ginger and all."

Goku blinked. "Ginger?"

"Redhead. Ginger. Gingers have no souls. She shouldn't have any qualms about killing something."

"Sabriena Anne Schuler, you take that back!" Lindsey demanded. "You know that's not true." She stuck her nose in the air. "Gingers get a freckle for every soul we steal."


	24. Day of War

They spent the last day of freedom doing whatever they pleased, trying to soak up as much fun and time together as possible. Sabriena went to visit Jenny and Catie and didn't return until it was nearly dark out. She and Lindsey fixed supper for Gohan and Trunks and they all ate to their hearts' content, laughing loudly over old times and funny stories. After dinner, they played several rounds of twister on the living room floor, laughing like they were little kids. They finally collapsed to the floor in a heap, all of them giggling so hard they could barely breathe. They stayed that way, tangled together, and stared up at the ceiling.

"I love you guys," Lindsey finally said.

"We loves you too, Linzer," Sabriena grinned.

Lindsey aimed a swat at her, but hit Trunks instead. "I hate that name," she growled.

"I don't want to go to bed," Gohan sighed.

"You guys nervous about tomorrow night?" Trunks asked.

"A little," Gohan admitted. "But we've beat them before. We can do it again."

"And we're better prepared this time," Sabriena added.

Lindsey exhaled a long breath.

"What's wrong, babe?" Gohan asked, twisting his neck around to look at her.

"Just a little scared, that's all," she answered.

"I'll protect you," he smiled.

Sabriena made retching noises and pretended to gag herself.

They talked about everything under the sun until it was well past midnight and they all ended up drifting off to sleep on the living room floor, which is exactly where Goku found them the next morning.

He laughed when he saw them and nudged each of them in turn with his foot. "Wake up, guys."

Gohan groaned and sat up, his back stiff from sleeping on the floor.

Sabriena wiggled out from under Gohan's legs and pushed herself up. "Coffeeeeee," she moaned, walking stiffly towards the kitchen. Trunks got up and followed her.

"Lindsey," Goku said softly, tapping her back with his foot. "Liiiindseeeey."

"Mmmph," she grumbled and covered her face with her arm. "'s too early."

"It's almost noon," he laughed. "C'mon, get up. I have a surprise for you."

She peeked out from under her arm at him. "Does it involve caffeine?"

He grinned. "Maybe." He held out the brown Styrofoam cup.

"Casey's cappuccino!" she squealed in delight as she sat up and snatched it from him. "But where did you-?"

"Instant transmission," he smiled.

"You went all the way to Missouri just to get me a cup of coffee?" she gushed. "That's so sweet!" She turned and kicked at Gohan's shin. "Why didn't that sweetness rub off on you?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Ow! Hey!" Gohan protested. "I do sweet things for you too!"

She shot him a skeptical look, then lost herself in the sugary coffee.

"I got you something else, too, when you're done with that," Goku said and sat down on the edge of the coffee table.

"More cappuccino?"

He laughed. "No. This is better."

"Cheesecake?"

"And people say I'm obsessed with food."

He waited for her to finish her drink before he handed her a lumpy, poorly wrapped package. It was wrapped in plain brown paper and felt soft in her hand as she took it.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Open it," Goku grinned.

She tore away the paper and stared at the bright orange uniform in her hands. "This looks like yours," she breathed.

He nodded. "It is one of mine. Well, was. I had Bulma alter it to fit you."

She looked up, her green eyes dancing. "Dad! You didn't have to do that!"

"Well, I just figured it's about time you went into battle wearing something appropriate," he laughed. "First it was the prom dress, then those weird corset things…"

Lindsey tossed away the paper and held the orange uniform up. "Look, Gohan!" It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. She hugged it to her and squealed. "Thank you!"

"Go put it on," he told her, nodding towards the stairs.

She jumped up and hugged him, kissed his cheek, and then ran up the stairs, giggling.

"I think she likes it," Gohan said approvingly.

Goku smiled.

Lindsey had to hand it to Bulma. The uniform fit her well. It wasn't too tight anywhere, but it wasn't overly baggy anywhere either. The fabric was soft and well worn and still smelled slightly of his cologne and the fabric softener Chichi used. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. "Now, I have a real family," she whispered to herself. She slicked her red curls up into a high ponytail, then trotted back down to the living room. "Whaddya think?" she asked proudly.

"Now there's a fighter!" Goku cried.

"Nice!" Trunks added. "That's awesome!"

"You going to wear yours?" Lindsey asked Gohan. He nodded. "We'll match," she grinned.

Sabriena pretended to gag again.

* * *

"Keep your head clear. Strike fast and hard. Always be aware of your surroundings."

Catie nodded to Vegeta as she slicked her hair up to a low ponytail. She began to twist the long strands together in a braid. "We're gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay," she muttered to herself. She turned to him. "We are gonna be okay, right?"

He smirked and gave her a nod. "Of course we are!"

She gave a sharp nod and twisted the braid into a bun. She wore a skin-tight dark blue suit with white and gold chest armor. Bulma had gotten the idea when Goku asked for alterations to make Lindsey a uniform. She thought that it was only appropriate, then, that Catie and Jenny should get to wear the same as their teacher.

"You would've made a decent Saiyan," Vegeta stated.

She turned and smiled at him. "Thanks." She looked once more in the mirror, then grabbed her car keys. "And now we eat like Saiyans."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Do what?"

"C'mon," she smiled. "I'm taking you to lunch. Just me and you. It's an all you can eat buffet!" She dragged the last word out.

He had to fight to keep the smile from his face as he nodded and followed her out of the house.

* * *

"OH GOD! OH HOLY FUCK. Oh… wow," Leelee gasped as she collapsed across Seventeen's chest, her bare shoulders quivering.

He was panting, trying to catch his breath, hugging her body tightly against his as they lay under the heavy blankets.

"Never forget this," he whispered to her.

She propped herself up on her elbows and stared down at him. "Huh?"

"Us," he answered. "Don't ever forget us. Okay? No matter what happens tonight, I will always be with you and I will always love you."

"Not nearly as much as I love you," she answered softly and kissed him again.

He broke the kiss and laid his head back against the pillows. "Now, you need rest," he said, pulling her down to lay on his chest again. He played with the tiny braids of her hair, lulling her to sleep, as he wondered if this would be his last time to hold her.

* * *

Dende cringed inside baby Paige's nursery as she giggled and cooed up to him from the floor, chewing on the corner of her pink blanket, oblivious to her parents' arguing across the hall. "This does not look good," he told Paige quietly. She blinked her big eyes at him and grinned.

"YOU ARE NOT GOING!" Piccolo bellowed. "I AM PUTTING MY FOOT DOWN! I FORBID IT!"

Jenny turned to face him, narrowing her eyes. "You forbid it?" she asked, her voice eerily calm.

He swallowed. "Now, Jenny, you know how close you are to having that baby. _Our _baby. I think I get some say in it."

"No," she answered simply.

"What do you mean, no?"

"No." She sat down at her vanity again and resumed brushing her hair. "Now you listen here. This is my body and I will decide what I will or will not do with it. I will decide what I can or cannot handle. You knocked me up-"

"Don't say it like that."

"-but I decide what happens from here on out."

"I can't believe you would risk our child's life just because you have some… some… stupid sense of pride!"

She got up from her vanity and walked towards him. "You think this is about pride? That's what you think this is about?! _PRIDE?!"_

He held his ground as she marched closer to him.

"This is about our daughters," Jenny said fiercely. "I will do anything to protect them, to make sure they're safe. They are not safe until every single one of Sigourney's followers are destroyed. And if I have to rip them apart, piece by piece, with my goddamn teeth, I will do it!"

"Jenny-"

"I'll do it with or without your permission," she stated. "So you might as well take me along."

He scowled at her. "Fine. But you are ONLY allowed to do magick to protect yourself or others within close proximity to you. You are not to fight, you are not to use energy waves and if it gets too out of hand, you are to run. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," she answered.

"Wear this," he muttered, tossing something on the bed.

She eyed it and wrinkled her nose. "A dress?"

"I know you won't be fighting in it."

"But I have that armor that Bulma made me."

"I know," he said, smirking. "If you're wearing that, you'll be too tempted to enter the fight. Wear the dress." And with that, he left the room.

She grumbled to herself. How was she ever supposed to have a decent fight if she never got to wear anything practical? But she didn't push it. She knew Piccolo well enough to not put it passed him to shove her in the lowest level of the Lookout where it would take her hours to find her way out again. And by that time, the fight would be over.

She stared at herself in the vanity mirror as the baby rolled and kicked. She placed a hand on her stomach, feeling the baby bump against her palm. "We're gonna be okay," she whispered. "Don't you worry about a thing. Mommy's going to make sure you never have to worry about anything like this."

She sighed as she pulled on the long, purple dress Piccolo had chosen for her. If he thought a dress was going to stop her from fighting, he had another thing coming. Had he forgotten the other battles she'd been in? She fought in her prom dress once, for crying out loud! She snorted as she tied the back of the dress. At least she wouldn't be in heels tonight. She left her long hair down and went across the hall to kiss Paige.

"We'll be okay," Dende reassured her. "I won't leave her side. I promise."

Jenny smiled at him. "Thank you, Dende."

"You be careful, okay, Jenny?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine."

"Here," Dende said, handing her a leather pouch. "I got some sensu beans for you all. Since you're not fighting, I thought you should hold them for everyone."

She weighed the bag in her hand. It didn't weigh much.

"There's enough for each of you to have one," he said. "Use them wisely. It's all we have right now. They take a long time to grow."

She nodded. "Thanks, Dende," she said and hugged him.

"You better get going," he said.

She kissed Paige again and whispered, "Mommy and Daddy love you." Then she hurried out of the nursery, closing her eyes as Paige began to cry.

* * *

The early winter air was chilly in the waning sunlight at the base of the mountain. It was exactly as Leelee had described it. Except for one thing. Far off to the side of the clearing were three structures that stood out in sharp contrast in the otherwise untouched field.

The Z-Fighters approached them cautiously.

"What are they?" Vegeta asked, peering at them. Three tall wooden posts had been driven into the ground. They still had bark on them; they appeared to be tree trunks that had the branches removed. Brush and kindling had been piled high at their bases; lengths of rope were coiled in the grass nearby.

Lindsey gasped and stumbled backwards, tripping over Goku's foot and landing hard in the tall grass. "Those sick fucks!"

Goku stared wide-eyed at her. "What is it?"

"Burning stakes," she answered, staring at them, terror in her eyes.

"I think you're right, Lins," Gohan said, stepping closer to study them. "We need to stay away from these."

"Why not just tear them down?" Seventeen asked. He grabbed a piece of the rope to throw it into the trees, but it suddenly sprung to life with a glowing purple light and snaked its way up his arm. "AGH!"

Jenny grabbed the other end of the rope, a blue light issuing from her hand, and yanked. It unwound from Seventeen's arm and fell limply back to the ground as everyone stared at her.

"Hey, I spent a lot of time in bed," she stated. "That doesn't mean I wasn't working on something!"

"And here I thought you were slacking off," Vegeta said.

"You know better," she said darkly.

He smirked.

"All right, nobody touch anything," Goku declared. "If it looks out of place, there's probably a reason."

Lindsey grabbed Catie's hand and said, "Be a dear and help me up."

Catie forced a smile. "Sure, Lins." Gripping Lindsey's hand far too hard, she yanked her to her feet. "You okay?" she asked sweetly.

"Peachy," Lindsey grinned, trying not to wince at the pain in her arm.

Sabriena laughed. "You two are sooooo fucking fake."

They blinked at her.

"Oh come on," she said, adjusting the holsters on her belt. "You two ain't no more friends again than God n' the devil." She racked the slide on one of the pistols with an ear-splitting snap and shoved it back in its holster. "And you suck at acting."

"Sabriena!" Lindsey scolded.

"The jig's up," Catie said, crossing her arms. "Can we just go back to openly hating each other?"

"Fine by me," Lindsey growled.

"Good!"

"Good!"

Both girls turned away from each other and stormed off, Lindsey hissing in Sabriena's ear, "Thanks a lot."

"What?!" Sabriena said loudly, adjusting her other pistol. "Everyone can see through your bullshit."

"I didn't," Goku muttered. He sighed, but decided there were far more pressing matters to deal with at the moment.

Leelee smacked her lips, looking uncomfortably around. "So, should we like, sing a song or something?"

Seventeen snickered. "Oh yes. A nice round of kumbaya would be lovely right now."

"Don't encourage her, Seventeen," Eighteen scolded as Krillin laughed.

"What is it, honey?" Jenny asked quietly, slipping her hand into his. Piccolo was staring up at the darkening sky overhead. She looked up to the sprinkling of stars that was beginning to show.

"There's no clouds tonight," he answered. "I was hoping there might be some cloud cover to interfere with the moonlight."

"It'll be okay," she said and leaned against his arm.

He looked down at her and smiled. "I know." He looked over his shoulder, scanning the field once more. There was no cover, except for the trees that encircled three sides of the field. The entire area was perfectly flat and open. There was nowhere to hide in that place. He didn't know what he'd been hoping for – a boulder or a raise in the land, an outcropping of rock… something that Jenny could hide behind to block her from the battle. He settled for the edge of the clearing, to the left side, near the thick brush under the trees. "I want you to stand over there," he said, indicating the place. "And don't you dare come closer."

"But that's so far away!" she protested. "I won't be able to cast from there! I've never thrown a protective shield from that far."

"Well you'll have to try," he answered firmly.

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Bad enough you stick me in this dress…"

"Jenny," he said in a warning tone.

"Fiiiiine," she sighed and marched across the cold grass as well as her full figure would allow. "Pregnant," she muttered to herself. "So sick of being pregnant."

"We'd better get back from these trees, too," Leelee said. "They're going to come down through there," she said, indicating a wide path through the trees. "At least, I think that's the way they're going to come. That's the general direction I went when I had the vision."

"Why didn't you warn us about these?" Vegeta snarled, pointing at the posts driven into the ground.

"Either they weren't there or I didn't see them," she answered, taking Seventeen's hand and walking across the tall grass.

The others set off across the field in the same general direction as Jenny, towards the opened side of the clearing.

"You'll be all right," Goku said, placing a strong hand on Lindsey's shoulder.

She nodded and looked to Gohan, who stood to her right. "Give me your hand," she said softly to him.

"Hmm?" he asked, looking down at his arm.

She withdrew a strand of polished stones from her pocket and tied it around his wrist. "Tiger's eye. It's supposed to protect from evil," she explained.

"Thanks babe," he grinned and planted a big kiss on her forehead.

She threw her arms around his neck. "We'll be fine," she whispered in his ear.

He nodded and kissed the side of her neck.

The moon was just creeping over the horizon when an earth-shattering roar split the still night air. Everyone seemed to tense as they felt the approach of Sigourney's followers. The sound of trees splitting could be heard as though the dragons were snapping tree trunks like twigs. A spout of brilliant orange flame flashed above the treetops.

"Let's end this tonight," Goku said loudly to the group around him. "Everyone be careful. We don't know what tricks they have up their sleeves. But this is what we've been training for. Watch out for each other. We'll make it through the night."


	25. The Battle Begins

The Z-Fighters didn't have to wait long to see exactly what they were up against. Dozens of leather-clad warriors marched out from the trees, carrying swords or spears and shields, others held bows and arrows. They formed lines across the field, facing the Z-Fighters. Some of them looked familiar – Edesia was amongst their ranks, as was Hybris.

At the sight of their weapons, Trunks unsheathed the sword he had slung across his back and Sabriena chambered a round in her rifle and dropped flat to her stomach on the ground, watching them through her scope, her finger resting on the side of the stock.

"Idiot," Vegeta growled, looking down his nose at her.

"I shouldn't have given up smoking," Lindsey muttered to herself.

The roaring grew louder as three huge dragons broke through the line of trees. Their iridescent scales shimmered in the moonlight, making their huge bodies gleam in jeweled tones of blue, green and purple. Their great heads were bridled with huge straps of leather that glowed slightly purple. One of the dragons roared again, revealing the cruel spiked bit in its mouth. The bridles held huge, semi-circle blinders that were lined with silver to reflect the moonlight directly into their burning yellow eyes that had thin pupils slit like cat's eyes.

"They're blinding them with the moon," Jenny breathed.

At the base of each dragon's long neck sat a rider with the huge reins gripped tightly in their hands. They wore thick black cloaks with hoods that hid their faces in shadow. They rose and fell, swaying with the movement of the dragons' necks.

"Take out the dragons first," Vegeta said in a low tone to Catie. "That's the center to their whole plan."

She nodded, her hair turning a vivid green and her eyes blooming to purple. Leelee and Lindsey followed suit; Leelee's braids turned to thin ropes of smoke and her eyes turned a pale, swirling gray – Lindsey's hair was in flames and her eyes burned orange.

An ear-piercing screaming echoed across the clearing. It was Enye, struggling and kicking with every ounce of strength she had as a fourth hooded figure drug her from the tree line. Her hands were bound with glowing manacles attached to a long chain.

"NO! NO! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! LET ME GOOOO!" she begged, tears flooding her big, orange eyes.

The hooded figure attached the middle of the chain to a stake in the ground. "You will watch this," a male voice hissed.

Her eyes went wider. "_You_," she breathed in recognition of his voice. "How could you? HOW COULD YOU?!"

His identity blown, Sanath ripped the hood from his head, his rust-colored eyes glowing maliciously. "If you are not with us, you're against us."

"That's the Shaman that caused the storms," Piccolo told the group.

"SANATH, I'M YOUR SISTER!" she bellowed.

"NOT ANYMORE!" he shouted back. "You're a traitor! Nothing more! And now you'll watch your friends perish at our hands!"

"Her… Her brother," Catie gasped. "I thought he was supposed to help her!"

The middle dragon seemed irritated by the loud screeching from Enye and unfurled its huge, leathery wings as it reared on its hind legs, roaring to the night sky. Its rider yanked the reins harshly, trying to control the beast. Its front legs hit the ground again with a force so strong the very ground seemed to shake.

Goku narrowed his eyes. "Stop this!" he shouted and took a few steps forward. "It doesn't have to be like this!"

Sanath straightened and pointed a finger across the clearing. "You shut your mouth! There is no other option! I will no longer tolerate the abuse of my people or our planet!"

"Your planet?" Goku asked in a voice loud enough to carry back across the field. "This is everyone's home! How can you say you're doing this for the planet when you're trying to enslave its people?!"

"They don't know what's good for them anymore! They've forgotten the Old Ways! Forgotten _us!"_

"You can't force people to… _believe…_ the way you do! They have to have free will!"

"Did that stop them from turning the people against the Old Ways?" Sanath countered. "They turned our gods into devils! Burned our temples! Destroyed our sacred groves! They live in denial and fear of their natural born talents! SHUT UP!" he bellowed, turning and aiming a kick at Enye who was still screaming and crying.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Goku shouted.

Sanath turned to him once more. "Fool. You should understand us better than anyone. Look at the women with you! They are part of our ways! They use the very magick we are trying to bring back to the common folk!" Sanath was breathing heavily, passion dripping from his every word. "Don't you see? We're fighting the same fight. You, the greatest defender of this world… You fight the same fight. You protect it from those who would destroy it, who would upset the natural balance. Can't you see that's what we're trying to do?"

"We are not the same," Goku said firmly.

"Oh yes we are," Sanath answered breathlessly. "You're right. We don't have to fight. If you would join us, we could bring back the old world where people loved and respected their mother." He was walking slowly closer, his eyes fixed on Goku's. "Can't you feel it? It's everywhere. It's in every living thing upon the earth. And they can't even see it." He was dangerously close to Goku now, his voice a breathless whisper. He narrowed his dark orange eyes. "They don't even care that they're killing her. She, who supports life, who gives life, who we return to when our last breath is drawn. They're killing our mother earth. And they don't even know what they do."

"You're going about it wrong, Sanath," Goku answered. "You cannot enslave people to your way of thinking."

"IT IS THE ONLY WAY!" Sanath bellowed, his shoulders shaking with rage. "This world cannot be saved until all of its people are practicing the Old Ways once more!"

"So that's what this is?!" Goku cried. "A holy war?!"

Sanath's eyes were wild as he stared at Goku. "In every sense of the phrase. They destroyed the old religion. The old gods were made into the devils of the new. We will crush out this monotheistic abomination that has enslaved the people. We will set them free; make them see what they've been missing for all these centuries."

"By enslaving them to yours?! How can you be such a hypocrite?!"

One of the dragons shook its whole body like it was trying to shake off a fly. Its wings rustled loudly and a deep purring came from its throat. It opened its mouth to chomp irritatedly at the bit, revealing fangs the size of butcher knives. Its tail thrashed, the bone-colored spikes leaving huge gouge marks in the hard ground.

"Your move, Goku," Sanath said in that same haunting whisper. "Either join us now or be crushed in the jaws of that Horntail."

The dragon shook its spiked head and snapped its jaws as if to reinforce Sanath's words.

"I'll take my chances with the dragon," Goku stated flatly.

Sanath's eyes narrowed. "So be it." He took several steps backwards, keeping his eyes on Goku as if he didn't trust the Saiyan, then finally turned and ran across the field to stand next to his sobbing sister.

"RUN!" Enye screamed. "YOU MUST RUN!" She cowered suddenly as the dragon nearest to her roared again, spouting a stream of blue and orange flame twenty feet into the air.

A whistling sound pierced the air and Goku's hand moved lightning fast – he clutched an arrow in his hand just inches before his nose. He slowly turned his head towards the man who had loosed it and who was now trembling in shock. "Big mistake," Goku said in a deadly calm voice. He flipped the arrow over in his hand and hurled it like a spear. The man held up his shield, but the arrow shot right through the hardened wood and drove home into the man's eye. His knees buckled; he was dead before he hit the ground.

A collective scream of outrage rang out from the warriors at the opposite side of the field and they charged. Without hesitation, the Z-Fighters ran at them, colliding in a chaotic clash of fists, magick and energy waves.

Jenny hung back as Piccolo had ordered, drawing in magickal energy and throwing the blue shields before anyone she could see. She blocked an arrow from piercing Eighteen's neck… a spear glanced off of Gohan's arm without touching him…

"What are you doing?!" she hissed at Sabriena, who lay calmly in the grass, her cheek against the stock of her rifle.

"Looking for Loki," Sabriena answered. She couldn't see him anywhere in the fight. There was a blue-haired man attacking Trunks, their swords clashing so fiercely that tiny sparks issued from the blades but he was far too stocky… Another flash of blue, but it was a female fighting hand-to-hand with Yamcha… "Damn you," Sabriena hissed through clenched teeth. "Where are you?"

The center dragon threw its wings wide again and rose into the air, circling above the fight. It bellowed flame down at the warriors, but only came close enough to make everyone, friend and foe, duck for cover.

"Fucking dragon," Sabriena snarled and pushed herself to one knee, swinging the rifle around to sight-in on the beast. The gunshot cracked across the clearing as her shoulder jerked back, there was a tiny spark on the dragon's flank as the bullet ricocheted off. The dragon didn't even notice and continued its circling in the sky.

"Son of a bitch," she muttered, slamming another round into the chamber. She shouldered her gun again, aiming for the dragon's underbelly, but the shot rebounded once more.

"Oh, that's working real well!" Jenny screamed, sweat collecting at the sides of her face despite the cold night air. She threw another shield in front of Leelee, saving her from a crushing blow of a spiked club.

"Shut up!" Sabriena shot back, taking aim again.

Jenny rolled her eyes as the shot glanced off the dragon again. "Oh, gimme that," she said, snatching the rifle away from Sabriena.

"Hey!"

Jenny slammed it against her shoulder, chose one of the warriors fighting against Krillin, and squeezed the trigger. Krillin jumped and looked around as the side of the man's head exploded in a rush of blood and brain matter. Jenny lowered the rifle and smirked proudly. "Boom! Head-shot!" She smirked again before she handed the gun back to Sabriena. "Whaddya know?"

"Give me… Taking my… I oughta…" Sabriena grumbled, snatching the light-weight rifle back.

* * *

Catie felt like singing. She practically danced through the warriors, slinging her vines with deadly accuracy, the sharp thorns ripping through leather armor and flesh. Two huge warriors stalked towards her, their swords drawn. She smirked at them and threw the thick, hardy vines at them… they sliced through the vines with their swords, marching steadily closer. She took a step back and gasped as a wide silver blade burst through the chest of one warrior. The blade withdrew and he fell forward in a heap… Trunks grinned proudly as the other warrior ran.

"THAT ONE COUNTS AS MINE!" Catie roared at Trunks as he turned to block a spear swinging towards his head.

"You don't – have to – be so – stubborn!" Trunks said, blocking the attack of the ferocious-looking woman who seemed hell-bent on taking his head off with her spear.

Catie screamed in frustration and turned towards the warrior who was running away from her. "Come back here!" she shouted, throwing a vine to wrap around his ankle. He fell face-first on the ground and she retracted the vine into her hand, dragging him with it, the thorns digging into his skin. "You coward!" She whipped at him with a vine of thorns, ripping at his flesh, leaving deep wounds in his face and arms.

Trunks knocked the spear from the woman's hands and swung his sword like a baseball bat, cleanly taking her head off. He winced as a shower of blood washed over him from the gaping hole atop her shoulders as the woman's body fell.

"Goddamn, he's dead, Cat!" Trunks screamed at Catie, who was still beating the warrior who'd tried to run from her.

She snarled at him, her face and white armor heavily flecked with blood of the dead man. Her purple eyes gleamed dangerously and she ran from Trunks, setting her sights on a new target.

"Stubborn bitch," he hissed to himself.

* * *

Piccolo had chosen to go directly for the dragon to the far right side of the field. He aimed energy blasts at it, but all they managed to do was irritate it. Its rider was cackling at him, taunting him.

"Why don't you show your face, you coward?!" he shouted.

"Coward?" the rider asked.

Piccolo froze. He knew that voice.

"Oooo! You're sooo talllll," the rider cooed, reciting the first thing she'd ever said to Piccolo as she ripped the hood from her head. Nyx grinned down at him from her perch at the base of the dragon's long neck. The dragon swung around, its tail slamming into the ground right where Piccolo had stood… He flew into the air just in time. He hovered in the air, level with Nyx. "C'mon, big boy. Show me what you got."

"All right," he smirked as he pressed two fingers to his forehead. "Special Beam Cannon!" Piccolo roared, aiming the spiraling gold and purple light at her.

Nyx threw her head back and laughed as the blast shot directly back at Piccolo and he had to dodge his own attack. It shot passed him and hit the ground, leaving a crater.

* * *

"Stop it! Make it stop!" Enye bawled. She was struggling to get away again but the enchanted iron cuffs held her in place, digging painfully into her wrists. She turned her head away, squeezing her eyes shut as tears spilled down her cheeks. Her hope… her last hope for stopping this madness was fading before her eyes.

"No," Sanath snarled, dropping to his knees behind his sister. He grabbed her neck, just under her jaw, and wrenched her face around towards the battle. "You _will_ watch this."

She was breathing hard, her teeth clenched. "Our people are dying at your hand," she said in a vicious whisper.

"No," he answered. "Your precious Z-Fighters are dying because of your stubbornness. If you'd joined me, we could have avoided this battle."

"I will never join you," she growled.

"No? Why not? He did." Sanath nodded towards the battle and Enye followed his gaze.

A young-looking man with dark brown skin and spiky white hair was fighting the Android with long, dark hair.

Enye's breath caught in her throat. It had been so long since she'd seen him. They'd been separated nearly two years ago after Sigourney's first battle with the girls. "Hashem," Enye whispered, fresh tears welling in her eyes. She stared hard at Sanath out of the corner of her eye. "You bewitched him."

Sanath laughed. "It wasn't easy, either. Rather nasty temper your boyfriend has."

"Boyfriend," she snorted. "We're a bonded pair. You should know that."

Anger flashed in Sanath's eyes. "You mean you…"

She smirked triumphantly.

"You mated with that traitorous filth?!" Sanath was outraged. His own sister, life-bonded to the biggest thorn in Sigourney's side. There couldn't have been a bigger slap in the face than this.

Enye was laughing, despite the tears that still streaked her face. "And there's nothing you can do about it! Our kind mate for life, you know that!"

"Shut up, Enye," he hissed. His mind was working furiously. There was no way to undo what had been done. That was a magick far more powerful than anything he could wield. He knew it all too well. That was why it was so vitally important to only mate with one's soulmate. You had to be sure. Because once it was done, there was no undoing it. That had been Sigourney's biggest mistake. Clever and powerful as she was, she fell too easily for the brute Kadar and his thirst for power and revenge. It wasn't until after Kadar had left on his crusade that Sigourney realized her error. Sure, she loved Kadar. But he was not her other half, the missing piece to make her whole. She found that in Sanath, but it was too late. Betraying your bonded mate was to betray yourself. Anyone who dared try it was usually so consumed with guilt and self-loathing that they soon took their own life in a desperate attempt to end their madness. Only one had ever been able to move past it, to act like it didn't destroy her from the inside out. Whether it did or not, Sanath had never asked. He tried to avoid Mohini at all costs. But he had his suspicions that she sought to wreak havoc on the love lives of others, to drag them down into her pit of guilt and despair, just so that in the back of her mind, she was not alone.

Mohini had always been beautiful and had been told so by everyone she'd ever met. She discovered at a very young age that she could get anything from anyone, male or female, just by batting her eyes or giving a coy smile. Everyone, that is, until she met a man who seemed immune to her charms. It infuriated and intrigued her. She blindly set out on a mission to charm him, to make him see her as the rest of the world did. But by the time she realized his game – that he had feigned disinterest so that he could have her as his own – it was too late. Like Sigourney, she had bonded to a man who was not her soulmate. In her rage she pushed him away, tried to make him hate her, to make herself hate him, but their bond was too strong. Such things are not as easy to destroy for their kind as it is for the humans. She did the only thing she could think of to rid herself of him. She slept with another man. But it did not work the way she intended. She felt so wretched, so absolutely disgusted, that she went numb inside. Her mate was driven insane with betrayal and hanged himself from a castle turret. From that day on, Mohini never again believed in love. In fact, she vowed to destroy it wherever she encountered it, just so that she knew she was not alone in her agony. And once again, she used her beauty and charms to seduce anyone in her path, just to see the horror and guilt on their faces that she felt in her own heart. She was easily the most beautiful woman in the world and the most wretchedly miserable.

Sanath knew her story, everyone knew her story, even if they didn't know her innermost thoughts, and they all gave her a wide berth. No one, male or female, was immune to Mohini's wrath. But Sanath thought he understood her pain, at least a little. Not being with your true soulmate was the most miserable feeling in the world.

Enye was still gloating, laughing at him.

He released his hold on her and shoved her away. He pushed himself to his feet and stared at her. "I hope the Horntails roast you alive."

"Sanath, where are you going?" she asked, suddenly panicked. She watched him slowly walk away from her, going completely unscathed through the battle. "Sanath! You can't just leave me here! Sanath? SANATH!"

* * *

The dragon circling overhead spat another stream of fire, this time igniting the ground just feet away from Sabriena. Jenny screamed and aimed her specialty attack at the flames – the water dragon burst from her hands and doused Sabriena and the rapidly growing fire.

Soaked and freezing, Sabriena chambered her last round and aimed it at the dragon. The bullet ripped through its leathery wing, snapping one of the thin bones that protruded down the length of its wing. The dragon shrieked in pain and dropped to the ground. Sabriena clicked back the bolt, kicking out the spent casing and stared in shock at the empty chamber. She hurriedly tossed the rifle aside and got to her feet, pulling one of the sidearms from her hip. The rider was struggling to get control of the enraged animal, pulling harshly at the reins, jerking the spiked bit in its mouth as the dragon spat blood and fire.

"Sabriena! Watch out!" Jenny screamed.

Sabriena rolled away from the burning grass and got to her feet once more. The rider's hood had fallen back… Loki was desperately trying to control his mount… Sabriena raised the pistol and squeezed the trigger.

Loki screamed as the bullet ripped through his left hand. He'd been focusing so much attention on controlling the Horntail that he had lost sight of the girl on the ground. He released his grip on the left rein and began to slip from the dragon's neck. He grasped frantically at the right rein as he fell, pulling the beast's head to the right and, in doing so, its body along with it… Sabriena threw herself to the ground to dodge the huge, spiked tail as it swung towards her… Jenny was not so lucky.

The fat part of the dragon's tail, just above the sharp, boney spikes, hit Jenny in the ribs and threw her into the brush and brambles beneath the trees. Loki hit the ground hard just a few yards away from Sabriena. The dragon, now free of its rider, roared and stamped, shaking its great head like a dog, trying to spit the bit from its mouth.

"You bitch!" Loki bellowed, getting to his feet, his bleeding left hand grasped in his right.

Sabriena pushed herself to her feet and aimed another shot at him. It glanced off his shoulder, a thin purple haze erupting over his skin where it struck him. "Ah ah ah," he grinned. "That's not going to work any more."

Sabriena fired rapidly at him, hitting her mark over and over, but the bullets could not penetrate his protective spell. The gun clicked – her magazine was empty. She pulled the second one from her other side, the rose gold glimmering from the small amount of dragon flames that lapped at the cold grass nearby.

Loki lashed out at her with a wave of energy that knocked the gun from her hand, sending it flying into the tall grass behind her.

"You son of a bitch!" she snarled. "That was expensive!"

He laughed at her.

Sabriena's hair flashed to a brilliant yellow, her eyes glowing in the darkness. "Let's do this. No running this time, you chickenshit."

He lunged at her, pinning her to the ground. She kicked out frantically at his chest, catching his sternum with her heavy boots and shoved him away. She rolled as he jumped up to stand over her, trying to kick her in the face. She grabbed the rifle and drove the butt of it deep into his stomach and he heaved, all the air knocked from his lungs. She stood up and swung the rifle high over her head, bringing it down to crack the middle of his back. 'Should'a brought the Mosin Nagant,' she mentally scolded herself.

Lokie rolled over and grabbed the butt of the gun as she swung down at him again, he shoved it back at her, the barrel hit her jaw and she felt her teeth pierce through her tongue. She released the gun and bent double, her hand under her mouth as blood poured from between her teeth.

Loki was struggling to get back to his feet. She grabbed the empty pistol from its holster and cracked him across the cheek with it, splitting his face open.

"Stupid cunt," he spat at her.

Sabriena had never been so enraged in all her life. She raised her arms above her head, grasping at thin air, and felt something heavy in her hands. She didn't know what it was, nor did she care, and she brought it down with all her strength, piercing Loki's side. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the spear in her hands – it glowed as brightly as her hair. She'd summoned it out of her own pure magickal energy.

Loki was howling in pain as the electricity ripped through his body. Sabriena tightened her grip on it, forcing all of her weight into it, sending the currents to jolt though his system. She felt it break through his other side, staking him to the ground. Loki convulsed and screamed, his flesh began to char…

Sabriena leaned hard on the spear as Loki went silent. She was gasping for air, her own blood still pouring from her mouth. She'd never spent so much energy on an attack. Her whole body was screaming for rest… She was exhausted…

Sabriena's eyes rolled back in her head as her hair returned to its normal dark blonde and she collapsed, unconscious, to the ground next to Loki's charred and smoking corpse.


	26. One Blaze of Glory

Jenny's eyes fluttered open and she stared up at the nearly barren tree branches above her. Holy shit that hurt. She tried to sit up, but a sharp pain ripped through her side and she fell flat on her back, gasping for air. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. Her ribs were definitely cracked, if not completely broken. Her eyes flew wide as she remembered the sensu beans Dende had given her. She reached down the top of her dress (it was the only place she could find to stash them since her dress didn't have pockets) but panicked when she couldn't find the little leather pouch. She grabbed the neckline of her dress and looked down at her chest – it was gone. She must've dropped it somehow when the dragon hit her. Bloody dragons. They weren't so appealing anymore.

Jenny rolled to her side, trying to find the bag. Her hands scrambled through the cold, dead foliage, but all she found was clumps of dirt and twigs. The brush around her was so thick and it was so dark out, there was no hope of finding it. She was cold, she was injured, she was wet… Jenny's body jerked at the realization that her skirt was wet. Why…

She didn't have long to wonder. A contraction ripped through her body, making her want to scream in pain. She braced herself against it, trying to control it, but her broken ribs shot pain through her side again and she screamed. She was trying not to breathe, every expansion of her lungs caused her ribs to shoot pain into her body again, the contractions were coming way too fast…

"Oh fuck," she moaned, rolling flat on her back again. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. Paige had come two weeks early, but that was normal. This baby, though, still had seven weeks before she was due. She'd gone into premature labor once already with this pregnancy and it was only through professional medical attention that they were able to save her. Now, she was lying on the edge of a battlefield with no one nearby to help her. She cried through clenched teeth as another powerful contraction ripped through her body, her ribs screaming in protest. She writhed and kicked at the ground, frustration and pain singing through her system. She tried to swallow back the tears, her fingers digging into the cold ground at her sides. Where was Piccolo? Where was Vegeta? Somebody had to help her. Hell, she'd take that idiot Yamcha at this point as long as she had _somebody _by her side. She didn't want to do this alone. She couldn't do this alone.

The contraction ebbed and she sucked in a lungful of air in relief, then hissed again at the pain in her ribs. She had to do something. Getting up wasn't an option – she didn't think she could get to her feet if she tried. She could try crawling, she supposed, but she was too afraid to move. The contractions were coming far too close together. She didn't understand it. She'd been in labor for hours with Paige; this baby felt like it was coming _now. _A sudden thought struck her and she closed her eyes, concentrating as hard as she could.

"Help me."

* * *

Lindsey froze on the battefield, staring around in shock at the soft, desperate sound of Jenny's voice. "Jenny?"

She couldn't see Jenny anywhere. All around her were people fighting, the clash of metal and energy waves ringing through the air. The riderless dragon was screeching, dragging its head side to side on the ground, trying to free itself of the bridle. It spread its wings wide, knocking fighters aside as others screamed and tried to avoid its thrashing tail and stomping feet. Leelee and Hybris were thrown to the side of the field from the impact of its wings, both of them screaming in shock. Seventeen was running towards it, trying to grab at the reins but it shot a spout of fire at him and he had to roll in the cold, blood-drenched grass to extinguish his clothing. He jumped up and lunged again, desperately trying to get control of the wild creature.

Nyx was screaming with laughter as Piccolo dodged the blasts from her hands and the torrents of flame from her dragon. It snapped at him, its huge jaws clicking together with an earsplitting sound. Vegeta was there, too, circling the dragon's head like Piccolo… He'd ripped one of the blinders from the bridle and now the dragon was watching both of them with one eye, its neck swaying side to side, trying to snatch them from midair as they taunted it, distracted it from the others on the field. The glowing light from Vegeta's hair seemed to enrage the animal as it bellowed another spout of flame at him… He swooped down underneath the dragon and aimed an energy blast up at the underbelly of the beast… It wedged between the scales, blasting chunks of them away as the dragon screamed again…

There was no way Lindsey could've heard such a soft request in the middle of this chaos. She jumped and spun in the air, her heel slamming into the side of a warrior's face as he tried to lunge at her with his sword. Arrows fell from the sky like rain as the archers at the back of the field loosed volleys of them into the air in high arcs. The arrows fell on everyone – Tien caught one and drove it into the side of an opponent's neck… Another found its mark in a warrior's chest and she fell to the ground… She never saw it coming… Everywhere was a swirl of dark shapes and screaming voices – only the occasional flash of yellow hair from the Saiyans or the bright green color of Catie's hair told her they were still alive. And then Catie was running, retreating from the fight…

"Coward," Lindsey spat. She narrowed her eyes and nearly shot an energy wave at her, but then she saw the direction Catie was running and Jenny wasn't there. There were no more blue shields of protective magick being thrown into the fight, no waves of water… Nothing that even hinted at where Jenny could be. Her heart stopped for half a second and she tore out across the field, leaping over fallen warriors and skirting dragon's breath as it flamed after her… Her legs screaming in protest as she ran as hard as she could through the tall grass, her boots slipping in slick pools of blood. It was no good. Her legs weren't nearly as long as Catie's or Leelee's… She took to the air, keeping close to the ground so as not to draw attention to herself…

* * *

"Jenny! Jenny!" Catie called, sliding on her knees into the thick brush, stopping at Jenny's side. "I heard you. I heard you."

Jenny smiled weakly up at Catie. "I knew you would," she gasped.

"Jenny, what's wrong?!" Lindsey cried, falling to her knees on the other side of Jenny.

"I… I..." Jenny screamed in pain as another contraction hit her.

"Oh my god," Lindsey said in a terrified voice as Jenny's arms wrapped around her stomach.

"Holy shit, are you in labor?!" Catie screeched.

Jenny was breathing hard through clenched teeth and nodded. She couldn't speak, every nerve in her body was in agonizing pain. It was like she was on fire from the inside out, like she was being torn in two.

"What do we do?" Lindsey asked in a panicked voice. "Catie, what do we do?!" She looked on the verge of terrified tears. She'd been in that delivery room when Paige came into the world and she knew that Jenny had nearly died.

"I don't know! I don't know!" Catie answered, her voice just as frantic as Lindsey's.

"Neither do I!"

"Okay," Catie said. "Okay, okay, okay. Lins, get up there by her head, let her lay her head in your lap. Let's see if we can make her a little more comfortable."

Lindsey scrambled around and lifted Jenny by the back of her neck, then crossed her legs and let Jenny fall back gently against them. Lindsey was breathing almost as heavily as Jenny was, her eyes locked on Catie's in fear. Catie looked equally terrified as Jenny screamed in pain again.

* * *

Trunks took to the air and looked around the field. He couldn't see Catie anywhere and her power level wasn't high enough anymore to make her stand out. "CATIEEEE!" he screamed, hoping to hear a response or see her turn towards him. There was nothing. No flash of green, no vines being thrown. Had she fallen in battle? The thought pierced him with an icy horror as he continued to scan the field beneath his feet.

Below him, Tien was struggling to hold his own against a mountain of a man who was swinging at him with a rough wooden club. Trunks narrowed his eyes and hurled his sword straight down… It pierced through the man's shoulder, pinning him to the ground as the point shot through his other side. Trunks dropped to the ground and yanked it roughly back out of the corpse, spinning it sharply in his hand to sling the blood from the blade.

"Man, thanks Trunks," Tien gasped. He was burned and bleeding, his left eye nearly swollen shut. He looked exhausted.

"Don't mention it," Trunks said and turned to face another warrior who was coming straight for him.

* * *

"Okay baby, bend your knees," Catie coached in a soothing voice. "Take some of the pressure off your back. Do… Do you feel like it's time to push?"

Jenny shook her head. "I don't think so," she whined. Lindsey was stroking her hair and gently rubbing Jenny's face with her thumbs, trying to calm her and relax her. "I… I love you girls."

"We love you, too," Lindsey answered softly.

"You're gonna be okay," Catie said.

"It hurts," Jenny sobbed, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead and screwing up her face.

"I know, I know," Catie said sympathetically.

Lindsey looked up and screamed in horror and Catie spun around – a dragon was pressing its nose into the trees, sniffing and snorting loudly. Lindsey grabbed Jenny under the arms and drug her back further into the brush while Catie scrambled backwards on the palms of her hands. The trees were growing too close together for it to completely enter the tree line, but its head was wiggling through, trying to get far enough through the trees to open its jaws. It could smell them; its rider was kicking fiercely at the sides of its neck, urging it forwards.

Catie stood and grabbed Jenny by the ankles. "Come on!" she hissed as Lindsey stood, holding Jenny's back against her chest. As quickly and quietly as they could, they carried a whimpering Jenny away from the dragon, heading parallel to the tree line. The dragon's head finally slipped through the tree trunks and snapped its teeth where the girls had been just moments before.

"There's nowhere to put her!" Lindsey cried. The ground had grown uneven and was littered with brambles and hard, knotty roots that protruded from the ground. Their boots slipped and ankles twisted as they tried to carry their friend to a safer spot. Catie led the way, back towards the edge of the woods until the ground was soft and flat enough to lay Jenny down again.

"We can't stay here!" Lindsey protested. "She'll be seen! They'll kill her!"

"Then we protect her," Catie said fiercely, her eyes locking on Lindsey's.

Lindsey pressed her lips together and nodded, her own eyes flashing orange for a split second.

The dragon was roaring in rage now, its horns had hooked onto the trees, trapping its neck. Its hooded rider was forcefully jerking the reins back, trying to free the animal. It shot flame into the trees, igniting the deadened branches as it stomped its feet. The claws of its front legs grabbed onto the tree trunks, pushing back against them, its long neck stretched out, trying to rip its head free.

Jenny raised her left arm weakly and with a painful growl shot a stream of water; the flames hissed and steamed as they extinguished.

"Goddammit, Jen, don't do that!" Lindsey scolded.

Jenny smiled weakly and raised her middle finger at Lindsey.

There was a terrible splintering of wood as the dragon wrenched its head free, the trees around it snapping and shooting shards of wood in all directions. It turned its head towards the sound of Lindsey and Catie screaming. It opened its jaws wide… It was going to swallow all three of them in one monstrous bite… There was a flash of brilliant gold and Catie swore the dragon's breath was going to burn the flesh from her bones…

A horrible ringing sound filled the air as Trunks' sword clashed against the dragon's teeth. Its senses jarred, the dragon reared back, shaking its head.

Trunks smirked and leaned forward, prepared to strike again with his sword. "Not her. You can have anyone but her."

"Trunks…" Catie whispered in shock, turning in her crouched position to stare at his back.

He flew into the air, trying to draw the dragon's attention, shouting at it. Its rider jerked the reins this way and that, trying to steer its snapping jaws in Trunks' direction, but he was too quick for the blinded animal to catch.

"Ca – Catie," Jenny gasped, making little strangled gulps in her throat.

"You're okay," Catie whispered frantically, tearing her eyes away from Trunks. "You're going to be okay. Right?" she asked, looking up at Lindsey.

"Right," Lindsey said, looking down at Jenny.

She reached her hands out and they each took one of them. She writhed in pain again as another contraction, stronger and longer this time, slammed into her system. Catie closed her eyes tightly at the sound of Jenny's scream and turned her head away.

The dragon turned its head, too. It lunged for the three young women huddled on the ground… In a desperate move to save them, Trunks flew at the dragon's head and slid between the blinder and the dragon's eye… the cat-like pupil widened at his presence… Trunks could see his reflection in the yellow and black eye as he raised the hilt of his sword to his right shoulder with both hands… With all his strength he slammed the blade deep into the beast's eye as it screamed in rage and pain. It thrashed its neck, slamming the side of its head to the ground, smashing Trunks between its skull and the hard earth… It flung its head back up, sending Trunks sailing through the air to land just feet away from Catie and the girls, his sword still clutched in his hand.

"TRUUUUUNKS!" Catie screamed and scrambled across the ground to his side.

He was breathing hard, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and he cracked his eyes open to look at her. "Catie…" he breathed. "I'm sorry…"

"Shut up!" she scolded. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Tears poured from her eyes and her hands shook as she looked him over.

He smiled at her, then hissed in pain. It felt like the majority of the bones in his body were cracked. His long, golden spiky hair fell back to the ground in its silky lavender color and his eyes returned to their bright blue. "I… never meant… to hurt you…"

"Shut up!" she screamed again. "Why did you… You didn't have to…"

"I love you," he said simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Tears were welling in her eyes. "I…"

The dragon's rider was pulling the reins, swinging the dragon's head back towards Catie and Trunks. Catie grabbed the sword from his hands and stood protectively over him, her hair flashing green once more. The glowing green light from her hair engulfed her body, extending down the length of the sword. Behind her, Trunks gasped and choked, coughing up blood. He groaned, "Catie… Don't…"

"C'mon, motherfucker," Catie hissed in a dangerous voice, holding the sword out with both hands. She followed the dragon's slow movement with the tip of the sword, holding her ground. "C'MON!" she shouted through clenched teeth.

The dragon rotated its head, catching her reflection in the silver blinder over its good eye. It saw the sword and recognized it. With a snarl, the dragon lashed out at her, determined to snatch her in its fangs… Catie shot into the air, swinging the now enchanted blade high over her head and fell back to earth, bringing the sword slicing through the cold air, it hit its mark right below the dragon's head… Pulling with all her strength, Catie wrenched the blade through its neck.

The headless dragon's body recoiled, writhing as its nerves seized up and convulsed. The rider was thrown from its back.

"ATTA GIRL, CATIE!" a shout rent through the air. It was Goku, hovering above them, his clothing singed and torn. With an approving smile he threw himself back into the fray and was lost amongst the battling warriors.

Trunks laughed softly at Goku's outburst as Catie landed on the ground at his feet again. She was breathing heavily, the sword still clutched in her hands, her fierce eyes scanning the area for the dragon's rider.

Trunks was aching all over, he could taste blood in his throat, he could barely move. It was an effort to even raise his head to look at Catie standing over him. The power coming off of her was incredible… He'd never felt such an intense energy from her before.

The cloaked rider stood up and flung the cloak away, glaring at Catie.

"YOU!" Catie roared, tightening her grip on the hilt of the sword.

Mohini smirked. "Hello, Catherine."


	27. Surprise!

The battle raged on, the Z-Fighters slowly gaining the upper hand as more and more of their enemies fell. Mohini's dragon was dead, rivers of blood flowing from its neck, its head disgustingly close to Jenny and Lindsey who scooted away from it, looking sick to their stomachs. Loki's dragon had managed to rid itself of the bridle and unfurled its wings, rising into the sky and disappearing to its mountaintop home to roar its displeasure of being captured at the night sky. Only Nyx's dragon remained, and it was outraged. Pieces of its tough scales and hide had been blasted away, revealing chunks of muscle and sinew… Piccolo and Vegeta were slowly dismantling the beast as Nyx continued to yank its reins this way and that, trying to knock them from the air, to capture them in the dragon's jaws.

A realization dawned on her and she smiled wickedly. In a stunning display of grace and balance, Nyx stood and ran the length of the dragon's neck and unhooked the buckle of the bridle, setting the dragon free. The bit fell from its mouth as the reins hissed up its neck with a leathery snap and the entire bridle fell to the ground. She threw herself away from it and landed lightly on the ground, then ran into the fray, disappearing amongst the other warriors.

The dragon shook its head once, surprised at its sudden freedom, then turned a menacing eye on Vegeta and Piccolo.

"Oh hell," Piccolo deadpanned.

The dragon roared and a stream of blue and orange flame issued from its mouth, setting flame to Piccolo. He'd never felt such an intense heat. He threw himself to the cold ground, rolling to extinguish the flames that burned at his skin. He'd been too close to the dragon's mouth, the fire was too intense, too concentrated. He was shouting in pain as the fire continued to burn. It just wouldn't seem to go out!

Vegeta paused in midair, staring in horror at the burning Namek. The dragon swung around, its huge tail flying through the air… One of the bone spikes caught Vegeta in the thigh, ripping through his flesh and flung him to the ground. Vegeta roared and grabbed at his leg as he hit the ground. He was feet away from Piccolo who'd finally managed to put out the fire, but was now gasping for air, his body shaking in agony. Vegeta was feeling light-headed. The only person he could see that he recognized was Piccolo. Where was Catie? Where was his son? Where was Jenny? He couldn't see any of them anywhere. He closed his eyes slowly, trying not to wince at the pain in his leg. Horntail. Hmph. He understood where the name came from now. Someone had grabbed his wrist and was pulling him across the ground. He opened his eyes and saw the Android.

"C'mon, Vegeta," Seventeen said. "You gotta get up!" He glanced over his shoulder and shouted at Piccolo. "COME ON!"

Vegeta was struggling to get to his feet, leaning hard on the grip Seventeen had on his wrist. He was still bent double, favoring his left leg, when he looked up to see if Piccolo was moving or not.

The Namek had just rolled to his side and propped himself up on one elbow when the dragon spun around again and fixed its yellow eyes on him, tendrils of smoke curling up from its nostrils. Before Vegeta or Seventeen could react, before they could shout a warning or fire an energy blast, the beast swooped down on Piccolo, capturing him in its powerful jaws. The long fangs pierced his body as he screamed out… The dragon shook its head like a dog playing with a chew toy… It gave one final, powerful thrash of its neck and released Piccolo to crash into the trees behind it.

"PICCOLO!" Seventeen screamed.

"All right," Vegeta growled, staring up at the dragon. "It's time to end this."

"Vegeta, you can't!" Seventeen protested. "It'll kill you!"

"Now you listen here, Android!" Vegeta shouted, standing up straight and ignoring the pain that shot through his leg. "Maybe your brain short-circuited or something! Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I'm-"

"The Prince of Saiyans," Seventeen sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You're goddamn right, I'm the Prince of Saiyans!" Vegeta bellowed. "And I don't need the likes of you telling me what I am or am not capable of! Now beat it! You're in my way."

"Stubborn old man," Seventeen hissed and turned away from Vegeta, his cold eyes scanning the battle once more.

* * *

Mohini stood smiling at Catie with a satisfied look in her dark eyes.

"Do you always dress like a whore?" Catie spat.

Mohini trailed her fingers up her sides. "No sense in covering this up. If you've got it, flaunt it, I always say."

Catie twirled the sword around once, then gripped it tightly in her hand again. "You tried to destroy everything that's important to me. You tried to take away everything I've fought for. I've been mad at the wrong person. And now you'll pay for what you've done."

Mohini smirked. "I didn't make him do anything he didn't _want _to do."

"Enough of your talk!" Catie screamed, throwing a vine at the seductress, wrapping it around her neck, the thorns piercing her skin.

Mohini screamed in rage and threw a wide length of red silk at Catie, binding her with it, making her fall to the ground and lose her grip on the vine. Catie slashed with the sword and struggled with the silk, screaming in rage. She managed to disentangle herself and got to her feet again. They lashed out at each other – Catie's vines tearing at Mohini's perfect skin, Mohini's silk leaving huge welts on Catie.

"Kill her… Catie," Trunks groaned, trying his hardest to sit up. Jenny was screaming in agony not three feet away, Lindsey was frantically trying to calm her down. Trunks settled for rolling to his side and army crawling towards them. He didn't know what had happened to Jenny or why she was screaming like that. All he knew was that he had to get to them. He drug his body slowly across the cold ground, determined to get to Jenny's side. Those girls had been there for him in his darkest hours; he was not going to ignore them now that they obviously needed him, no matter how badly he was injured.

Jenny was laying flat on her back, her chest rising and falling harshly as she gasped for air, groaning with every breath. Lindsey was in tears, trying to calm Jenny. She looked more panicked than Jenny did. "Breathe, Jenny, just breathe," she said softly, brushing sweaty pieces of hair out of Jenny's eyes. Jenny tensed and writhed again and Lindsey's lip trembled.

"Hey… bitchcakes," Trunks grunted, managing a pained smiled as he flopped flat on the ground at Jenny's side.

Lindsey stared at him in shock for a second. "H-Hey, assbutt," she choked out. She gave a weak giggle at their stupid nicknames. That day on the porch seemed like a lifetime ago. That was the day she'd promised Gohan that they could start their family. Now she wondered how the hell she was ever going to keep that promise… If they'd even make it out of here alive for her to keep it…

"Jenny," he groaned, pulling himself up next to her. "What's wrong?"

"The… baby's… coming…" she gasped, her every word laced with fright and pain.

Trunks felt his heart drop. Of all damn things. "_NOW?!"_

Jenny nodded, her body tensing harshly as another contraction hit her. She grasped for Trunks' hand, he gave it to her willingly, holding her hand tight as he watched her with fear in his eyes. "Hold on, sis. Please. It'll… be okay."

"Oh, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" came a sickly sweet voice.

The three of them looked up to see Nyx standing over them, her hands on her hips, smiling.

"You get away from here!" Lindsey snarled.

Nyx laughed. "Are you kidding?! All that trouble to kidnap the other one, when I could've just lured you into battle and waited for a fresh one to pop out. This is too fantastic."

"LEAVE US ALONE!" Trunks roared.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Nyx snarled.

Lindsey leapt to her feet, throwing herself between Nyx and her friends. Her hair erupted in flames again and she summoned the firewhips in her hands.

Nyx's eyebrows raised. "Let's see what you've got."

* * *

Catie was growling, trying to free herself of the red silks that bound her arms to her sides. Mohini was walking slowly closer to her, pulling them tighter, crushing Catie's bones. She felt them beginning to crack, her spine was popping, her hands and feet were going numb.

Mohini smiled viciously at Catie as she stood nose to nose with her. "You know, these are the very silks we laid upon as he fucked me," she whispered in Catie's ear. "He was soooo good. One of the best I've ever had."

Catie thought she would puke. Mohini slid her hands around Catie's bound body, trailing kisses along her jaw line. Catie shivered in disgust and tried to writhe away.

"What?" Mohini asked, as she retracted and faked looking hurt. "You know you want it, too. You find me just as irresistible as he did."

Catie spat in Mohini's face.

Mohini blinked and wiped her eyes. "Watch out, you never know what might turn someone on."

Catie's eyes burned bright purple as she stared back at the woman who disgusted her so. "You're hideous."

Mohini blinked, true shock on her face. "What did you say to me?"

"You're disgusting. Ugly. Repulsive," Catie sneered. "He hates what he did. He hates you. He thinks you're disgusting, too. You're nothing but a cheap whore; that's all you've ever been. And that's what you'll die as. You will never know love. Not a true love like Trunks and I have."

She'd touched a nerve and Catie knew it. Something in the beautiful woman's eyes snapped and she yanked the silks tighter around Catie.

"It's all a lie," Mohini whispered. "There's no such thing."

"Too bad you'll never know," Catie answered, gasping for air as the silks bound her. "Now prepare to DIE!"

Mohini's eyes narrowed for a split second before she was yanked into the air by her ankles. Thick vines held her suspended, upside down, one vine around each leg. The silks around Catie fell away and she threw more vines from her hands, wrapping them around Mohini's wrists, the thorns digging deep into her flesh. Another thick vine shot from the ground and wrapped around her neck.

"What are you – AGH!" Mohini screamed as Catie pulled on the vines.

A malicious gleam touched Catie's eyes as she pulled harder, she could hear a crunching sound as bone and ligaments tore… With a final heave, the vines ripped her limbs away, and snapped her neck… Mohini's lifeless body fell back to the ground in a bloody heap.

"Home wrecker," Catie spat.

* * *

Trunks was choking, coughing up more blood as he held Jenny's hand. He released her and rolled away from her, he didn't want her to see the pain and fear on his face.

"Trunks?" she asked softly, still fighting the pains that washed over her every couple of minutes.

"I…" he gasped.

"You're dying, aren't you, Trunks?" Jenny asked softly, her voice cracking with sadness.

He nodded, his back still to her. He could feel it. He was going cold, his heart was racing as though it was determined to get in a lifetime of beats before his last breath left his body. There was no coming back this time. He'd been revived once before. His body was broken; there was so much pain he didn't think he could stand it anymore. Death started to seem welcoming, like a good long rest at the end of a hard day. He only wished Catie had forgiven him before he went. But she had protected him from the dragon, had tried to save his life. Somewhere, deep down inside, she still loved him. He relaxed a little, a small smile pulling at his lips. Catie still loved him. He could die happy knowing that.

Jenny rolled to her side, ignoring the pain screaming through her broken ribs, and slid her right arm under Trunks' side and threw her left arm over him.

"What… are you… doing?" he gasped.

The palms of Jenny's hands came to a rest on the hard muscles of Trunks' chest. A soft blue light began to glow there. "Don't fight it," she whispered.

Trunks tensed, immediately regretting it as pain shot more intensely through his body, not knowing what to feel or expect. The blue light never seemed to grow any bigger, but where her hands touched him felt warm like a comforting heat was easing its way into his system. It spread though his chest, his breath coming easier now, his shoulders weren't aching anymore, his heart rate was slowing…

Trunks sucked in a deep breath of cool air and sighed in a contented sort of way. He didn't know what had happened or how she did it, but it was like Jenny had stitched him back together from the inside out. He started to move, but she held on to him.

"Jenny…"

"Don't move yet, okay?" she whimpered. The light was still glowing in her palms, but now he could feel the warmth of it moving through his back, flowing back to her. A few moments later he felt her relax and he struggled to sit up.

"You okay?" he asked, turning to her.

She fell back flat on her back, another contraction coming. She gritted her teeth and nodded. "My… ribs are… better."

"Can't you stop your labor?" he asked. "Oh god, Jenny. Come on. Please?"

She forced a pained smile at him. "Something you just… can't… control."

He fell back to his side on the ground and held her hand. He was healed, but he by no means had his energy back and he still felt incredibly weak.

"You gonna help me?" Jenny asked, her warm brown eyes meeting his frightened blue ones.

Trunks' eyes went wide. "Wh… I… Jen… You can't ask me to…"

She fixed him with the kind of fierce stare that only a mother can give. "Oh yes I can. And I will if those girls… don't get back here soon."

Trunks was too exhausted to argue. He lay miserably on his side, terrified at the thought of being responsible for helping Jenny bring her baby into this world. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to tell her. This whole thing was foreign to him. This wasn't like in the movies where it was a controlled setting and everything was clean and sterile and the "mother" still had her makeup done and her hair fixed while the father paced the hallways of the hospital. This was his friend, practically his sister, clutching painfully at his hand as she growled against the unimaginable pain, her face contorted and her hair askew, her husband nowhere in sight, as she lay on a cold, bloodied battlefield surrounded by dragon flame and corpses. Only one wild thought forced its way into Trunks' mind at that point. 'Fuck you, Hollywood. Fuck you and your lies.'

* * *

"Ah, there she is," Goku grinned, spying his daughter-in-law across the battlefield. Goku had just checked on his son; Gohan was holding his own against Edesia; he had a vendetta against her for tricking his father with food, which he thought had been pretty damn low. Now Goku was looking for his daughter-in-law.

Lindsey was kicking at Nyx, spinning in the air and slamming her heel into Nyx's arm. She swung her firewhips and cracked the witch across the face.

Nyx retaliated with a kick and Lindsey raised her knee to block it. Nyx took a wide swing at Lindsey's torso, leaving her face wide open, but instead of striking, Lindsey only blocked. She threw an energy blast at Nyx that simply glanced off, but put some space between them. Nyx flew at her again; Lindsey turned to the side and dodged.

Goku frowned and narrowed his eyes. "What is she doing?" he hissed to himself. He'd trained her better than that. Sure, he'd taught her how to take a punch and block a kick, but he certainly hadn't taught her to act like a human punching bag. She was still trying to defend herself, but she seemed distracted, cautious. Nyx aimed another waist-high kick and Lindsey grabbed her by the shin and spun in the air, yanking Nyx over her head and slamming her to the ground. Goku's arm twitched, "yes," he whispered. "C'mon, Lindsey. You can do this. Don't make me save you."

Lindsey lashed out with a whip again, but Nyx caught the end of it and held onto it. Lindsey tried to wrench it back, but Nyx twirled her hand, wrapping it around her wrist. Lindsey could hear it singeing her skin and could see blisters bubbling up on Nyx's arm. Fear shone in her fiery orange eyes as she stared in shock. No one, not even Goku, had been able to withstand those burns for that long. Nyx ripped the whip from Lindsey's hand and lashed back with it, catching her in the face. Lindsey spun and fell, stopping herself from hitting the ground with one hand. Nyx dropped the whip and it vanished, then flew at Lindsey and kicked her shoulder, knocking her to the ground.

Goku was seething. She hadn't even _tried _to block that kick with her free arm. Lindsey was laying on her side on the ground as Nyx stood over her. She didn't jump up or kick out, she wasn't even putting her arms up to block her head.

Goku froze. A mixed thrill of excitement, fear, and anger shot up his spine as he stared at his son's wife. Instead of blocking the punches Nyx aimed at Lindsey's head, Lindsey curled into a ball, her arms wrapped protectively over her lower stomach. He gasped as he suddenly understood. But why hadn't she told anyone? And then the severity of the situation sunk in to him and an anger began to coil in his chest at her attacker. Nyx had stopped her attack and was considering Lindsey's position on the ground. She drew her boot back, aiming a kick at Lindsey's stomach…

Goku was between them in a flash and grabbed Nyx's ankle and flung her backwards on the ground. His hair stood in big, glowing gold spikes, his entire body radiating a golden aura as his shoulders shook with a furious rage. His sea-foam green eyes were fierce as he snarled at her, "YOU WILL NOT HARM THE WOMAN CARRYING MY GRANDCHILD!"


	28. Wonderland

Lindsey pushed herself up on the palms of her hands to stare up at Goku. How did he know? She trembled as she looked at him. She had never seen him so angry before. It frightened her.

Nyx had gotten to her feet. "So it's daddy to save the day again, huh?" she hissed.

"I'll always be here to save the day from filth like you," Goku spat. The air around him crackled with his energy.

Nyx sneered. "Your energy won't save you."

It was Goku's turn to smirk. "That's what you think." He flew at her and drove his fist into her stomach, doubling her over, then brought his elbow down on her back with lightning fast speed.

She rolled and threw a burning purple light of magickal energy at him. It hit his shoulder and ripped through his shirt, leaving an angry bruise on his skin. Goku seemed un-phased as he flew at her again and she jumped up, meeting his swinging fists and kicks with her own. Goku was vicious in his attack. It was one thing to attack an opponent of equal strength. It was quite another to attack an expectant mother trying to protect her unborn child. The very thought infuriated him.

"As if it wasn't bad enough that you kidnapped Piccolo's daughter!" Goku yelled, his fist catching Nyx across her cheekbone, "But now you just made the biggest mistake of your life by trying to kill my grandchild!"

Nyx spun and slammed her heel against the side of Goku's neck and froze in terror as he stood still as a statue, smirking at her. Her leg screamed in pain from the impact she'd put into that kick, but he didn't even flinch. She swung again, her fist hitting him in the bridge of his nose, and again, Goku just stared at her with those fierce eyes. His arm moved faster than she could blink and slapped her to the ground with an earth-shattering force.

Nyx groaned and pushed herself to her knees. Through heavy eyes she could see the redhead getting to her own feet and a sudden plan struck Nyx. A huge orb of purple magick appeared in her hand.

"LINDSEY! RUUUUN!" Goku screamed and flew at Nyx, but he was too late. The blast hit Lindsey in the shoulder and sent her spinning through the air to land harshly on her side. Goku froze for a split second, then rushed to where Lindsey lay.

"Dad," she groaned, pushing herself to a sitting position.

"Are you hurt?" he asked frantically. He was shaking all over, barely able to keep his head as the energy coursed through his body.

Lindsey's left arm was twisted funny at the shoulder. "Ouch," she whined. "I think I dislocated it."

Goku was breathing heavy, his temper boiling over. He turned to glare at Nyx. "YOU BITCH!" he screamed, getting to his feet again. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Nyx grinned wickedly and tore out across the field, dodging the stamping feet of the dragon that was slowly losing its battle to Vegeta, and disappeared into the tree line.

"Go to Jenny," Goku commanded. "She has the sensu beans. Then both of you get away from here."

"But, Goku-"

"GO NOW!"

Lindsey didn't hesitate and ran for all she was worth to the other side of the clearing where she'd left Jenny and Trunks.

Goku started to follow Nyx, but his path was blocked by the dragon spouting fire at him. "KILL THAT THING ALREADY!" he bellowed at Vegeta.

Vegeta hovered in midair, aiming another energy attack at the monstrous beast. "Let's see you do any better!"

Goku lowered his stance, bringing both hands to his right hip. This was ridiculous. He didn't have time to be messing with a dragon. "Kaaa… Meee… Haaa… Meee… HAAA!" he shouted and threw the blue wave of energy directly at the dragon's chest, but the blast glanced off and hit the trees nearby. Goku blinked in shock.

"Idiot!" Vegeta snarled. "You have to hit it from the underside of the scales! That's the only way the blasts get through!"

Goku flew into the air as the dragon lunged for him, snapping its jaws. He flew to the dragon's side, trying to get at an angle so that he could hit it, but it whipped its neck around and hissed another stream of fire at him and he had to drop several feet in the air again. "How do you do that?" he asked Vegeta, trying to get around the dragon again, but it swung its spiked tail and nearly knocked him out of the air.

"Good question, Kakarot!"

It was no use. No matter which way they went, the dragon had them covered. It spat more fire at them from the front, its wings knocked threw them away from the sides, and that damned tail was swinging constantly.

"Where's Piccolo?" Goku demanded, getting more and more frustrated. Nyx was running and if he didn't get rid of this dragon soon, she was going to be too far away to track, if he hadn't completely lost her by now as it was.

"He's dead, Kakarot!"

"WHAT?!"

Vegeta was gasping for air. "This thing killed him. I saw it with my own eyes."

Goku couldn't take anymore. He aimed another energy blast at the dragon out of sheer rage and ducked as it ricocheted back at him. Goku screamed in frustration and flew at the dragon's neck, landing a punch against the hard scales. Pain zinged up his arm and it felt like his hand broke. "That was stupid," he muttered to himself as he blasted away from the furious animal.

Both Saiyans dropped to the ground, panting, near exhaustion, as the dragon drew a long breath and raised on its hind legs, preparing to bellow another stream of fire at them.

"VEGETA, NOW!" Goku roared.

Vegeta had seen their chance, too. Both men flew under the dragon, barely grazing the tall grass as they went, then turned to their backs in midair, looking up at the dragon's underbelly above them.

"KAMEHAMEHAAA!"

"FINAL FLASH!"

The combined attacks slid through the gaps between the long, flat scales on the dragon's chest. The dragon screamed as its chest burst open, showering them in an explosion of blood and chunks of flesh.

Goku and Vegeta landed on their backs several feet behind the dragon as it collapsed to the ground. Vegeta sat up and stared at it with a smirk.

Goku pushed himself to his feet. "Good job, Vegeta."

"As if I need you approval," Vegeta snorted.

"I don't have time for this," Goku growled and rose into the air, trying to remember exactly where Nyx had disappeared into the woods.

* * *

"Trunks," Jenny gasped. "You… have to… help me."

"Jenny, please," he begged. "Just hold on."

She shook her head, pushing herself up with her arms outstretched behind her. "I have to push."

Trunks went pale and he swore his heart stopped. "How do you know?!"

"I can just feel it, okay?!" she shouted back. "Now help me, goddammit!"

Trunks forced himself to his knees and scooted around to Jenny's feet. She was breathing harder than she had been before, her face screwing up as another contraction hit her. Her whole body tensed, she growled against the pain as Trunks stared at her with pity and fear.

The growl turned into a scream as the pain ripped through her body. She felt like she was being ripped apart and burned alive from the inside at the same time. She dug her fingers into the cold ground as she pushed with every ounce of strength she had. The contraction ebbed and she fell back harshly against the ground again, panting. "I AM NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN!"

Trunks chuckled, despite the terror he was feeling. He'd give anything to be facing ten dragons instead of being in this position, but he couldn't leave her. He was far too weak to fight right now anyway. He was struggling just to sit up and he figured that if the adrenaline hadn't been rushing through his system as it was, he would fall over and pass out. Which was still a likely probability if he had to actually assist her in some way.

Jenny pushed herself up to a semi-sitting position again and hiked her skirt up. Thank god Catie had had the foresight to help her undress from the waist down when they realized what was happening.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Trunks shrieked.

"Oh for god's sake, Trunks! MAN UP!" she shot back at him. She met him with an even stare. "I need your help, Trunks. _Please._"

Trunks swallowed the huge knot in his throat and nodded. "O-Okay."

Jenny kept her eyes locked on his and bared down again. Oh, fuck, it hurt. She clenched her teeth, concentrating on Trunks' eyes, trying to block out the pain. Poor Trunks. He looked so scared.

"You gotta breathe, Jen," Trunks said in a soft tone. It was the only thing he could think to do.

She gave a nod and sucked in another gulp of air and pushed again. She whimpered, "Oh, it burns. Oh… god… Owwww."

"Is there supposed to be this much blood?" Trunks asked, his stomach getting queasy.

Jenny was about to yell at him to shut the fuck up when a voice carried across the field.

"Jenny! Jenny!"

It was Lindsey, running to them, her left arm dangling useless at her side. She skidded to a stop at Jenny's feet.

"Oh shit," she breathed and dropped to her knees.

"LINDSEY!" Trunks roared and threw his arms around her, hugging her as tight as he could. "Oh sweet mother of god, I've never been so happy to see you!"

"Owww!" Lindsey whined in a high-pitched voice. "My arm!"

"Sorry!" Trunks gasped and released her. "I just… oh my _god, _Lindsey… You're a life saver."

Lindsey looked from Trunks to Jenny, at the bleeding space between Jenny's legs and started to get to her feet, "Oh, fuck no! You're on your own!"

Trunks grabbed her by her good arm and hissed between clenched teeth, "If you leave me, I will fucking kill you, I swear to god. I swear to _god_, Lindsey, I will kill you."

"I'll kill you both if you don't shut up and help me!" Jenny threatened, trying to bite back another scream. Her head fell back as she gasped for air, sweat pouring down her face.

"All right, all right," Lindsey said and Trunks walked on his knees to Jenny's head. He sat on his heels and lifted her head into his lap.

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck," Lindsey whispered as she positioned herself better between her friend's feet.

"NO!" Jenny snarled. "That's what got me in this position in the first place! I swear, if Piccolo thinks he's ever gonna touch me again – AAAGGGHHH!" Her sentence broke off as another contraction hit.

"You can do this," Lindsey said softly. "You're okay, baby. You can do it."

"What happened to your arm?" Trunks asked.

"Nyx," Lindsey said, concentrating on Jenny. "Hey, Jen, you don't have those sensu beans, do you?"

"DO I LOOK LIKE I HAVE GODDAMN BEANS ON ME RIGHT NOW?!"

Lindsey and Trunks flinched and fell back into silence as Jenny screamed in pain again.

* * *

A tiny voice was humming through the trees. A little girl with long, stringy pale hair and nearly-white eyes was skipping along, her dirty and worn teddy bear dragging the ground behind her. "Ring around the rosy, pockets full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down!"

She giggled to herself as she stomped on a twig and it crunched beneath her tiny shoe. She continued through the forest, mildly interested in the screams and roars issuing from the field nearby. Her shoe slipped over something that rattled and she looked down at it. It was a small leather pouch, tucked under some dead leaves. Curious, she picked it up and opened it to find a handful of green-colored beans. She poked them with her little fingers and picked up one to examine it. There was a slick coating over it like an oil and she touched it to her tongue, screwing up her face at the bitter taste. She knew these beans. They used to grow in the woods near her home. But they'd all been destroyed long ago. It was believed that they no longer existed. She dropped the bean back into the pouch and pulled the drawstrings, smiling to herself. She grabbed her teddy's arm and skipped along the tree line, heading closer to the battle.

She emerged from the trees near the burning stakes, watching curiously as Hybris and Leelee threw magick orbs at each other. Both of them were bruised and bleeding, their clothing torn, breathing heavily with exhaustion. It was no use for either of them. They had been at it for hours now and they were perfectly matched in strength and ability. Antonia scurried out to meet Hybris and tugged at her hand.

"Not _now, _Antonia," Hybris hissed, shaking her off.

Antonia fixed her face with determination and tugged harder at Hybris' hand, holding up the little pouch.

"How… did you… get those?" Leelee panted, her shoulders slumping. She was so sore and tired. All she wanted to do was go home at that point.

Hybris cocked a weary eyebrow at Leelee and accepted the bag from Antonia. She opened it and looked inside; a wicked grin split her face. "Oh, Antonia, you never cease to amaze me." She pulled a bean from the pouch and popped it in her mouth, crushing it between her teeth. She pulled a face as the bitter liquid inside seeped into her mouth and she swallowed.

Leelee felt she could cry as Hybris' eyes flamed with a renewed energy.

"Now," Hybris grinned, her voice strong again. "Let's finish this!"

But Antonia was tugging at her hand again.

"What?!" Hybris hissed.

Antonia was pointing at something. Hybris' eyes flashed with excitement and she looked to Antonia and nodded. "Just a moment, then you can have some fun."

* * *

"Where did she go?" Goku growled, his eyes scanning the trees. Anger and adrenaline were coursing through his veins. She was not getting away that easily. Not after what she'd tried to do.

"Who are you talking about, Kakarot?" Vegeta asked. He was still sitting on the ground, his arms resting on his bent knees, slowly catching his breath.

"That girl with the purple hair," Goku answered.

"Why are you-"

But Vegeta didn't have a chance to finish his question. A roaring from the trees drew their attention and he was forced to get to his feet once more, his torn leg burning and aching.

Goku's green eyes flashed towards the trees. There it was again – the sound of trees snapping and being ripped up by their roots. There was no nervous excitement this time. He was sick of this and he wanted to end it. There would be no more abuse of the innocent, no more using children to manipulate their parents. They'd gone too far.

"I thought we got rid of them all," Vegeta said. "Don't tell me there's another blasted dragon to kill!"

"Let's just finish this one the same as we did the other," Goku answered. "Let's be done with it."

Vegeta gave a nod as his hair flashed to gold again.

But the dragon that ripped through these trees was different and even Vegeta found himself surprised by it. This one was bigger than the others had been and it was snowy white. Its eyes glowed red in the darkness. Its scales were smooth and sleek – not big and rough like the Horntails. Its bridle glowed purple; Nyx was perched at the base of its long neck. She was bruised and bleeding, but she smiled triumphantly at Goku when she saw him.

Goku narrowed his eyes and threw a huge energy wave at Nyx. But the dragon moved its wing to shield her and the blast glanced off. "No," Goku breathed. This dragon, unlike the others who were wild and had to be controlled, was tamed and working with Nyx. He didn't understand how someone could tame a beast like that, until he realized that she must've put some sort of spell on it. That was the only logical (if you could call any of this logical) explanation for it. "Oh, man," Goku half-laughed.

The dragon lowered its wing and Nyx laughed. "Now you have met your match! I hope you've made peace with your maker; Natiri hasn't eaten in a couple days. She's hungry!" Nyx stroked the dragon's neck with her free hand.

"It has a name," Vegeta deadpanned.

The white dragon stretched her long neck to the sky and belched a huge spout of flame. Even from their distance, Vegeta and Goku could feel the heat from it.

"Same tactics as before?" Goku asked.

Vegeta nodded and they flew at the dragon, both of them going separate ways, trying to confuse it. Vegeta was relieved to see this one didn't have spikes on its tail, but that didn't stop the dragon from swatting him to the ground like he was a mere housefly. The dragon followed Goku's every movement, roaring fire at him over and over as he tried to dodge, but it eventually hit its mark. He was forced to rip his dark blue shirt away and throw it to the ground as it ignited… It was too late… Angry burns streaked up his back, but at least they were mostly superficial… The cold air made them sting even more.

Vegeta flew up the dragon's side, aiming a blast at Nyx, but the dragon threw him away again with a smack from its wing. Nyx was laughing, taunting them from her safe position on the dragon's neck. "Come on, now, boys," she crooned. "It's just little ol' me! Surely the mighty Saiyans won't be defeated by a girl?"

"SHUT UP!" Vegeta bellowed, aiming another attack at her. The dragon spat flame back at him as the blast bounced off its shoulder.

They were no match for it. No matter what angle they tried to attack from, their blasts just glanced off, leaving the dragon completely unscathed. It shot fire at them with nearly every breath, setting the treetops on fire… Its wings batted at the air, blocking their attacks, smacking them to the ground… Its tail whipped around to send them careening into trees…

"Kakarot, it's no use," Vegeta panted, pushing himself to a sitting position.

Goku sat up too, leaning his back against Vegeta's. "We can't give up," Goku said through gritted teeth. "They'll destroy everything we love. Our wives… Our children… Our grandchildren…"

Vegeta's insides turned to ice at Goku's words. He thought of Bulma in those wretched dungeons… Trunks fighting alongside their warriors, hypnotized under one of their spells… Catie and Jenny dying at their hands… Paige being raised by these lunatics… Who knew what they'd do to her… Or the new baby when it arrived… Would they even keep Jenny alive long enough for it to be born?

"No," Vegeta growled, getting to his feet once more. "They've toyed with our families long enough."

Goku nodded and got up as well. He would not stop until he destroyed that witch or until he was dead. His only thought was of the new life that would soon be part of his family… Something he'd given up hope on, but was now a reality… He would not let that be taken from him. He drew a deep breath and turned to face the dragon again as it turned its red eyes upon him. "Bring it," Goku challenged and rose into the air once more.

* * *

"I can't!" Jenny screamed. "I can't! It hurts! Oh, God! MAKE IT STOP!"

"You can do it, Jenny," Lindsey encouraged. "Come on, just one more push!"

Jenny was clawing at Trunks' shoulders as he held her head in his lap. His hands shook as he brushed the hair from her face, trying to calm her. "Shhh," he said. "You're okay. You're going to be okay."

Jenny gulped air and tensed her body again, pain ripping through her every nerve.

"I… I can see the head! Her head's out!" Lindsey gasped in wonder. "Oh Jenny, you're so close! Come on, honey! PUSH!"

Jenny had collapsed against Trunks. "I… can't…" she whimpered. Her voice was barely above a whisper now. "It hurts so bad."

"I know," Trunks soothed. "I know. Come on, Jenny. Just one more. You can do it. Think how proud Piccolo is going to be of you."

Footsteps were approaching. Lindsey looked over her shoulder to see Catie running at them at a dead sprint. "Jenny," she gasped, dropping to her knees beside Jenny's hip. "I'm here, sis."

Jenny forced a small smile at Catie.

"There's… a new dragon," Catie panted, clutching at a stitch in her side and pointing back to the other side of the clearing with her other hand. "But I had to… check on you… first." She raked her eyes over Jenny and gasped. "Jesus! I just about missed it!"

Jenny closed her eyes for a moment, gathering what little strength she had left as her body contracted once more. There was so much pain… It burned and ripped… A horrible pressure was tearing her apart… She pushed with every bit of strength she could muster… All she could think about was Piccolo… She couldn't let him down, not now… She screamed as the pain became unbearable… And then… relief.

Trunks gasped at the tiny baby Lindsey held with one arm. The baby was wailing and wiggling around, perfectly healthy and safe. "You did it!" Trunks cried happily. "Oh my god, Jenny, look!"

Jenny looked down at the baby as Lindsey gently placed her on Jenny's chest.

"Trunks, give her your jacket!" Catie ordered.

He tore off his dark denim jacket and draped it over Jenny and the baby as Jenny began to cry.

"Hi baby," she said softly as happy tears flowed down her cheeks. She kissed the perfect little round cheeks as the baby cried out. Baby was breathing just fine, her little face screwed up at all the new sounds and sensations around her. She nuzzled against her mother, wailing loudly.

Lindsey and Catie were crying too. Lindsey wiped the tears away with her good hand, streaking Jenny's blood across her face. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything at that point. Not her injured shoulder that was still aching or her ruined uniform that was covered in Jenny's blood. She was so relieved that Jenny and the baby were okay that nothing else mattered.

"They need me," Catie said finally, getting to her feet.

"Wait, aren't we supposed to cut the cord?" Lindsey asked.

"Not until everything else is out," Catie answered. "I remember that from the last time when we were in the hospital."

Lindsey nodded. "What do I cut it with? I don't have anything!"

"Here," Catie said and handed Trunks his sword. "Cut it with this and then tie it off."

"Tie it? What do we do that with?" Lindsey was becoming frantic again.

Catie sighed and grabbed Lindsey's hair, wrenching the hair-tie from it. She held it out in the palm of her hand. "I swear, Lins, you panic too easy. What're you gonna do if you ever have one?"

Lindsey giggled weakly. "Fuck if I know."

Catie turned and looked at the battle. Lindsey grabbed her hand. "Be careful, Cat."

"Always," Catie grinned cockily.

Lindsey's eyes were sincere as she stared up at her. "I mean it. I love you, girly."

Catie's lip trembled for a second and she dropped to her knees, hugging Lindsey tightly.

"I mean it this time," Lindsey whispered.

Catie nodded, trying to not to cry happy tears again.

"About time you two made up for real," Jenny growled, sitting up straighter and snuggling the baby. "Bitches drive me fuckin' nuts. You know, you can't fight like this anymore. I'm not poppin' out a kid every time you two decide to argue just to bring you back together." She stopped and looked down at the baby again. "Your aunts are crazy."

Catie released Lindsey and planted a big kiss on Jenny's forehead. "I have to go back. You be safe. I love you."

Jenny nodded at Catie got to her feet once more. Catie started to walk away, but stopped and looked back. "What're you gonna name her?"

Jenny smiled. "Alice."


	29. The Battle Foretold

Leelee's back slammed against something hard as Hybris pressed her forearm against Leelee's collarbones. Hyrbis grinned maliciously. "I cannot wait to watch this," she whispered, excitement dripping from her every word.

"Watch… what?" Leelee gasped, cracking open one eye to look at the young woman who held her. Leelee's eyes flew open as she felt the rough fibers of a rope around her neck. She tried to struggle, to free herself, but it was no use. She was too exhausted. Hybris withdrew her arm, but the rope still held Leelee. She could feel it winding around her body, tying her to that rough wooden pole.

Antonia was skipping around the base of the stake, trailing the rope through her little hands, singing a haunting tune as she wound the rope around Leelee.

_"Dead girls dance_

_They burn and twirl_

_Witch hunt, witch hunt,_

_Burn this girl."_

Leelee looked up at the battlefield. The huge white dragon was still snapping and roaring at the two pure-blooded Saiyans as they attacked it with all their might. Enye was about thirty yards to Leelee's left, still tethered to the metal stake in the ground, pulling so hard on the chain that her wrists were starting to bleed. Enye was screaming at Nyx to stop, that this was madness, to stop before they were all killed.

Yamcha was lying on the ground near the trees, completely unconscious, but alive. Tien had crawled to him and was trying to shake him awake. Most of the warriors had fallen, but a few remained, still fighting Krillin and Eighteen… Gohan had won his battle against Edesia; her broken body lay only a couple yards away. And Seventeen… where was Seventeen? Where was her knight in shining armor to sweep her away from this horrible fate she was about to face? She knew what was coming, the terror ripped through her heart like a hot knife. Tears began to leak from her eyes as she looked to the sky that was tinged with dark purple – the sun would be up soon. The sky was empty, save for the occasional burst of flame from the dragon's throat. There was no Seventeen coming to save her… She sobbed as the ghostly little girl continued to skip circles around her.

_"Dead girls dance_

_They burn and twirl_

_Witch hunt, witch hunt,_

_Burn this girl."_

* * *

"We need help!" Goku shouted to Vegeta. His whole body was aching, but his anger couldn't be satiated. He would not give up that easily.

"I'm coming, Dad!"

"Gohan!" Goku gasped in relief at the sight of his son. Gohan was a little roughed up, but looked relatively unharmed. They didn't have a chance to greet each other any more than that as the dragon spat flame between the two of them.

"Oh look! Another pest come to die!" Nyx called. "It will be fun to see the look on your face as you watch your son perish!"

"I'm not going down that easy," Gohan smirked. He flew at Nyx, aiming an energy blast at her, but like the others, it ricocheted away.

There was a flash of green and Catie hovered in midair, her hands on her hips, grinning.

"Catherine!" Vegeta cried. "It's about damn time!"

She shot him a cocky smile. "Miss me, dad?"

Vegeta growled something low in his throat, but the dragon threw its wing out and knocked into him, throwing him a good distance away.

Catie spun towards the dragon and lashed out with a thick, woodsy vine that was studded with thorns. The vine struck the dragon's flank, leaving small holes in its smooth scales.

Nyx had cast a protective spell over the entire beast. That's why their attacks couldn't get through like they had on the Horntails. This dragon wasn't as tough as the others, it was just bigger and easier controlled. Goku's mind was racing furiously as he flew out of the way of another burst of flame from the enraged animal. Magick was the only thing that was going to kill this dragon. But Catie's vines were going to take until Christmas to kill it at the rate she was going. What was that they'd said about where magick came from? It came from every living thing on earth. He'd made this connection before… A wicked grin split Goku's face as he rose into the air and stopped, raising his hands above his head.

"BUY ME SOME TIME!" he commanded the others.

Gohan looked up at his dad and nodded, realizing what his father was trying to do. He flew at the dragon, drawing its fiery breath towards him. He didn't know if this attack was going to work, but it was their best bet.

Catie continued to fly around the dragon as fast as she could, throwing vines when she had a decent shot, but all she was doing was infuriating it further.

"Stop attacking it!" Vegeta ordered.

Nyx was aiming blasts of magick at them as she wrenched the reins around, trying once again to catch them in the dragon's fangs. Catie was flying along its side, it had its head turned towards Gohan, but suddenly the dragon swung around… Its jaws wide and closing upon her before she realized what was going on… She screamed and flinched, but the dragon never caught her and she opened her eyes…

"Seventeen!" she gasped.

He hand one hand on the top and one on the bottom of the dragon's snout, struggling to hold its jaws open. "Get," he groaned, his arms shaking as the beast bore down on him.

Catie flew backwards, aiming another shot of vines at the dragon. Seventeen released it and shot straight up into the air, whipping around to avoid the trail of flame.

Goku stared up at the bright white orb of light growing above his head. It wasn't nearly big enough yet. He wanted that thing to be huge. He was going to take out Nyx and her dragon at the same time and finish this once and for all. They'd worked too hard to quit now, they'd been preparing for this war for months and it wasn't all going to be in vain. He only wished the attack would charge faster. He concentrated harder, drawing energy from everything around him, channeling it up his arms to the sphere glowing above his palms.

The dragon was outraged at the four pests circling it. Every time it tried to get a bite at Vegeta or scorch Gohan with its flame or crush Catie beneath its claws, someone else was there to distract it long enough to let their accomplices escape. The dragon drew back a deep breath and stretched her neck across the ground and bellowed a huge spout of flame that set the grasses in the clearing on fire.

Sweat was pouring down Goku's face. The effort of raising that energy combined with the heat of dragon fire beneath him was exhausting. He wished for a breeze, something to cool his skin if even for a minute. Someone was screaming… a female's voice carried across the field… He didn't know if it was Jenny or Leelee or Lindsey… Another thrill of fear and rage shot through Goku at the thought of Lindsey burning… He concentrated harder, fueling the Spirit Bomb with as much energy as he could draw to himself…

Enye was shrieking in fear as the dragon's flames grew closer to her. The bodies of her people were burning like a mass cremation ceremony… So many had followed Sigourney and Nyx to their deaths, either blinded by their lies or bewitched by their spells… All of it unnecessary. She should've been used to it by now. Death and destruction was all she'd known, ever since she was a little girl all those centuries ago… She could feel the heat of the flames coming closer, sweat breaking out along her pale skin.

Leelee was screaming, too. She was bound to the stake by that enchanted rope, the kindling at her feet was starting to catch fire… She was unable to move… The flames were lapping at her feet… She could feel the soles of her shoes getting hot.

"SEVENTEEEEEEEEEN!" she screamed. Over and over she screamed his name until it felt like her throat was ripping.

Eighteen was suddenly before her, tugging on the ropes, trying to rip them away. "It's okay, Leelee! I'll get you out!" Eighteen's clothing was ripped and bloody from battle, scorch marks burned the edges of her shirtsleeves.

The fire was growing stronger around the stake as Antonia watched with uncaring eyes. "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down," she sang softly.

Hybris had been smiling haughtily, but now she was starting to panic. The fire was raging, growing bigger and more intense with every second. It was consuming everything in the field – grass and branches and the bodies of the fallen… It was growing steadily towards them… Hybris lunged and wrapped her arms around Antonia and twisted in midair, both of them disappearing with a cracking sound like a gunshot.

* * *

Tien knew he had to act fast. His body was aching, but he was not about to be burned alive in that field. He threw Yamcha over his shoulder and flew towards the open edge of the clearing, landing beside Sabriena. He fell to his knees and let Yamcha roll from his shoulder as he watched the field burning. He could see Goku's Spirit Bomb growing bigger and the dragon bellowing more fire, adding to the flames. He reached over and shook Sabriena, muttering, "Wake up. Come on, girl. Don't be dead. Wake up."

Sabriena's eyes fluttered open; her head was splitting. "What happened?" she moaned, grabbing her forehead.

Tien heaved a sigh of relief. "Just had to make sure you were okay."

Sabriena's tongue had swollen from where she'd bit it and her mouth had a horrible metallic taste in it. "I bith my ton," she lisped. She rubbed at the dried blood on her chin.

He sat back and sighed, his body aching. "Dende'll fix you up."

"Nameths," she muttered.

"Speaking of Nameks, where's Piccolo's wife?" Tien asked, scanning the clearing. "I thought she was supposed to be putting up protective shields, but they stopped coming a long time ago."

"Look, I know I don' know 'ou 'ery well, buh pleathe sut up," Sabriena lisped. "My head hurths."

Tien shook his head as she covered her head with her hands, trying to will the pain away.

* * *

Nyx was trying to direct the dragon at Goku, to knock him out of the sky and destroy whatever attack that was that he was conjuring. She didn't like it. It was too big and she was afraid that it might break through her protective enchantments. But no matter what she did, the others kept getting in the way, distracting her mount, preventing her from getting to him. She screamed in frustration.

"Hurry Dad!" Gohan called, swinging his body away from the dragon's tail. He was wearing out; his fight with Edesia had not been an easy one.

"I need more time!" Goku shouted back. His arms were shaking with the effort to contain the energy. "Please! Just a little more!" He could still hear that screaming – two voices now, both screaming as if they were in sheer agony. He had to fight the urge to look, he couldn't break his concentration now… Another voice screamed…

"SEVENTEEN!" It was Eighteen, shooting across the field towards them. "Seventeen help! It's Leelee! She's being burned alive! I can't get to her, the fire's too big!"

Seventeen spun in midair and through the hazy air he could see the fire that surrounded Leelee as she screamed. It was lapping at her body, her clothing peeling away…

"LEELEE!" he screamed and flew towards her, Eighteen hot on his heels. The sound of her screams terrified him. He couldn't lose her; he couldn't let her die like that. The blaze was so intense as he got to her that his breath constricted in his throat. His own clothing began to singe and burn, holes crawling across the fabric.

"HELP MEEEE!" Leelee begged. "I'M BURNING! SOMEONE HELP MEEEEE! PLEEEEEASE!"

"I'm here! I'm here!" he cried. Seventeen ignored the flames eating away at his own skin as he yanked on the ropes binding her to the stake. It didn't make any sense, the way her clothing and skin burned but the ropes did not. He couldn't tear them away no matter how hard he pulled, and moved to untie them instead. His hands were shaking… Her whole left side was engulfed in flames… She'd stopped screaming… The rope unwound and she fell forward, Eighteen was there to catch her. Together, Eighteen and Seventeen carried Leelee away from the flames and laid her in the cold grass.

Seventeen couldn't stop himself at the sight of Leelee's burned body. He turned his head and vomited, not from disgust, but from sheer heartache. Most of Leelee's clothing had been burnt off. Her skin was charred and cracked open, revealing muscle and bits of bone. The burns covered her feet and shins, all the way up her left side, along her jaw to her ear. Seventeen was gasping for air and covering his mouth with his wrist, trying not to get sick again as tears poured down his face. Not Leelee. Not the one person who had looked past all the horrible things he'd done in his life and accepted him wholeheartedly, without judgment, and loved him for the person he was now.

"Seventeen, she's still alive!" Eighteen shrieked.

He wiped the tears and snot from his face, his mind racing as to what to do. He couldn't think straight, he was panicking, he had to save her…

"Take her to Dende!" Eighteen ordered. "Take her there right now! Don't you worry about us! We'll be fine. Just get out of here! HURRY!"

Without another word, Seventeen scooped Leelee into his arms and flew away as fast as he possibly could.

Eighteen watched her brother go, then turned to see the dragon still bellowing flame, Gohan and Catie and Vegeta trying to distract it as the Spirit Bomb above Goku's head grew bigger. She narrowed her pale eyes at the dragon and raced into the air, firing an energy wave at it in anger. The dragon whipped its head around and growled low in its throat as Nyx seethed at the android.

"You want some too?" Nyx taunted.

"Yeah, I do!" Eighteen screamed and flew underneath the dragon, drawing its attention to the ground while Catie took the opportunity to lash at its exposed neck.

"I SAID STOP DOING THAT!" Vegeta shouted.

"I've had enough!" came a voice. Sanath stepped out of the shadows, looking murderous. "WE WILL NOT BE DEFEATED AGAIN!" He stared up at Goku's Spirit Bomb and conjured a huge ball of orange magick and hurled it with all of his strength.

Goku braced for impact. He didn't know what would happen if the Spirit Bomb was hit by a magickal attack. He closed his eyes and tensed his body… But the impact never came. Instead, he felt the energy of the bomb swell… The Spirit Bomb had absorbed Sanath's attack and grew bigger from it. Goku's eyes went wide as a sudden thought struck him.

"Catie! I need more magickal energy!" he shouted at her.

"But I've never… Jenny's the one who's good at that!" she protested, dodging another stream of flame.

"TRY!" he barked.

Catie threw her hands out, thinking over and over to herself to send just magickal energy. She didn't know where it came from, but suddenly emerald steams of light burst from her palms and hit the Spirit Bomb, making it grow.

"Yes," Goku whispered, watching as the energy continued to flow from Catie. He risked looking over his shoulder, scanning the field for Lindsey or Jenny or Leelee or Sabriena… He couldn't see them anywhere… "LINDSEEEEEY!"

* * *

Lindsey's head jerked up. She heard Goku screaming her name.

"I gotta go," she said, getting to her feet.

"You can't fight in your condition!" Trunks shouted at her. "Your arm's hurt!"

"He needs me," she said simply. She would not question Goku in a situation like this.

"What's Catie doing?" Jenny whispered, leaning forward and narrowing her eyes. She gasped. "Lins, he doesn't need you! He needs our magick!"

Goku's voice traveled back across the clearing to them again. "GIRLS! I NEED YOUR HELP! NOW!"

Jenny hastily handed baby Alice to Trunks and pushed herself to her feet. A rush of blood hit the ground as she stood and Trunks hastily scooted backwards, clutching the baby in his arms. "Jenny you need to sit down!" he ordered.

She shook her head. "We have to end this," she answered breathlessly. She stood beside Lindsey and raised her arms towards Goku. "Just concentrate on pure magick," she whispered to her friend. "It'll happen."

Lindsey raised her good arm and closed her eyes, concentrating.

"Come on, girls," Goku begged, staring up at the Spirit Bomb that continued to grow from Catie's magick.

Blue streams of light hit the attack, growing it, making it harder for Goku to control it. "Good girl, Jenny," he gasped, struggling to contain the energy. A red stream soon joined it as well. He felt his heart could explode with joy… she'd made it out of the battle alive… she and the baby were safe… Yellow lights soon hit the Spirit Bomb as well, telling him Sabriena was still out there somewhere too…

"STOP! STOP! STOP!" Enye was screaming.

Gohan looked down at her from his position near the treetops and his heart sank. The dragon's fire was dangerously close to where Enye was still chained. He shot through the air and landed on the ground next to her.

"I'm trapped!" she wailed, tears mixing with dirt and sweat on her face as she tugged desperately at the chains.

Gohan grabbed the chains near the stake and pulled, leaning all of his weight back, but they wouldn't budge. He couldn't pull the stake up, nor could he snap the chain… The fire was growing closer…

"Help me!" she begged.

"I'm trying, Enye! I'm trying!" Gohan answered through clenched teeth, pulling with all his strength.

"HEY NYX!" Goku's angry voice rang out as the streams of colored light broke off. He had to do it now… He couldn't restrain it any longer. "HOW'S THIS FOR MAGICK?!"

Nyx turned her eyes upon him and gasped in horror at the huge sphere of energy above his hands. It was at least twice as wide as her dragon. She pulled hard on the reins, turning the dragon straight towards him to spit more flame… Sanath was standing there, horrorstruck… Goku heaved the attack at the great white dragon with all his strength… The Spirit Bomb hurled across the space between them and hit the dragon, sending it careening through the trees, leaving a wide channel through the forest in its wake. Sanath and Nyx screamed… the blast hit the base of the mountain and exploded. As the dust and smoke cleared, there was nothing but a big crater in the earth.

The chains binding Enye suddenly snapped and she and Gohan were thrown back against the ground. Gohan sat up quickly. "HA! DAD DID IT!" he cried and got to his feet to run into the middle of the clearing where his dad was still hovering several yards above the ground.

"NO!" Enye screamed and ran too, heading for the freshly cut path through the trees.

Goku was breathing hard, unable to catch his breath. His golden hair turned back to its natural black and he fell to the earth, his chest heaving. God, it felt good to lie in that cold grass.

"HA, BITCH!" Catie yelled towards the place where Nyx and Sanath had been killed. Without a second glance, she flew back across the clearing to land next to Jenny.

Jenny had collapsed back to the ground near Trunks and was weakly holding her baby again.

"We did it!" Catie cried, her eyes dancing. "They're dead! We did it!"

Jenny smiled, trying to catch her breath. "They're running," she said, nodding towards the few warriors remaining on the field. Like Hybris, they were jumping into the air and disappearing with a twist and a pop.

"Yeah, you better run, bitches!" Catie taunted gleefully. She stood and did a little victory dance. "Uh-huh! That's right! We whipped your asses! AGAIN! Woot, woot!"

Jenny and Trunks fell to giggling as Catie's dancing became more exuberant.

"Wh-Where the hell did Lindsey go?" Trunks chuckled.

"Her bitch-ass is running out there to snog Gohan's face off," Catie said, dropping to the ground next to Jenny. "Now, let me see this lil critter bug," she grinned affectionately and peered at the baby in Jenny's arms.

* * *

Gohan was the first to reach Goku's side. "Dad! Are you okay?"

Goku nodded, his chest still heaving. "Man… that was… fun."

Gohan closed his eyes in exasperation as Vegeta stumbled over and plopped to the ground next to Goku. He leaned his arms on bent knees again, panting and staring at the wide path that had been cut through the trees.

"Nice work… Vegeta," Goku said, raising his arm and turning a fist towards Vegeta.

Vegeta nodded and made a fist, then bumped Goku's knuckles with his own.

Gohan sat back and stretched his legs out in front of him. "Where is everyone?"

As if in answer to his question, Eighteen and Krillin appeared through the smoke, leaning heavily on each other.

"Man, it's always going to be this way with you, isn't it, Goku?" Krillin half-laughed.

Goku forced himself to sit up and nodded. "Yeah, 'fraid so," he laughed.

Enye was walking slowly back towards them, her arms bleeding from the manacles that had held her.

"Hey!" Goku greeted her. "You're okay!"

She stopped a few yards away, her shoulders trembling. "You killed him," she said in a hollow voice.

Gohan didn't understand. She looked heartbroken and furious. Pain filled her eyes as she stared at them all.

"YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" she screamed.

"Enye," Gohan said in a calming voice as he rose to his feet. "We had to. He was nuts! He left you there to die!"

"He was still my brother!" she shrieked, her voice cracking as she started to sob. She drew a sharp breath through her nose and pointed an accusing finger at them. "And you… you killed him."

"What did you expect us to do?" Vegeta spat.

Enye set her jaw, her neck trembling as she stared at them with every ounce of hatred she could muster. Her nostrils flared as she spoke again. "You're all dead men."

Gohan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What? How can you… You can't be serious…"

A crazed look filled Enye's eyes as she tipped her chin up and spoke through clenched teeth. "This was not the battle foretold."

Fear and shock flooded their systems as they listened to her.

"But the Fates said…" Goku started, but Enye cut him off.

"THIS WAS NOT THE BATTLE FORETOLD!" She was seething with rage. "Kadar has not yet come back to us." She started laughing – a haunting, crazed sound like the laughter of a lunatic. "And when he does, I will greet him with open arms!"

"Enye, you can't!" Gohan protested. "Think of what they've done to you! How can you join them now?!"

"I will avenge my brother's death," she hissed. "He may have been misguided, but he was my brother. The only good thing I had left in this wretched world. And now I will make sure that everything you hold dear is lost! You think this was bad? You haven't seen shit yet. This is but a taste of what is yet to come. And I will make sure you meet your end."

"Enye!" Gohan shouted. "You can't do that!"

"I can and I will," she said simply, then jumped in the air and spun, disappearing with a loud crack.

They stared in shock at the place she'd disappeared.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Vegeta shouted.

"Yup," Krillin sighed, dropping to sit on the ground. "It's never gonna change."


	30. Casualties of War

"Dende!" Seventeen called desperately, running across the tile of the Lookout. "DENDE! HELP ME!"

Dende appeared a moment later, sleepily rubbing his eyes. "Seventeen? I'm sorry, I dozed off waiting to find out what happened in the battle."

"Dende, help Leelee!" Seventeen begged, holding her out to the Namek. "Please!"

Dende gasped. "Bring her," he ordered and returned inside the Lookout to a small room that had previously been Sabriena's bedroom. Seventeen cautiously laid her on the bed and stepped back against the wall, his chest heaving.

"Please Dende," he begged again. "Save her."

"What did this to her?" Dende asked, staring in horror at Leelee's charred flesh.

"A dragon," Seventeen breathed.

"I'll see what I can do," Dende said, holding his hands over Leelee's body. "Most people who get burned by a dragon don't live, Seventeen."

"DON'T SAY THAT!" he shouted, leaning forward at Dende. He fell back against the wall and slumped to the floor, resting his elbows on his knees and covering his face with his hands. "Please just heal her."

"I'm trying, Seventeen," Dende said softly as the yellow light from his hands flowed over her body. It was a slow process, slower than any healing he'd done before. The magick-infused fire wasn't something to play around with. There was a reason dragons were kept on reserves, far away from human interaction. Such places had been set for them long ago.

Leelee's muscles slowly knitted back together, the charred edges of her skin began to smooth over. But it wasn't right. Her skin looked rough and stretched, almost scaly like the hide of an alligator. Dende screwed up his face. He didn't like that comparison, but that's honestly what it looked like.

Leelee's breathing was easier, she wasn't shaking or gasping in pain anymore. But she remained unconscious.

Dende tried and tried, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get the scars to go away. Her body was healed, but it was far from being perfect.

"I can't do anymore," Dende gasped, collapsing at Leelee's bedside.

"What do you mean?" Seventeen asked, getting to his feet and rushing next to her. He scanned her all over with his eyes. "She looks healed to me."

"I can't fix her scars," Dende panted. He'd nearly exhausted himself trying to put her right.

Seventeen set his jaw. "I don't give a damn about that. Will she live?"

Dende nodded. "She just needs some time to rest. She'll be okay."

Seventeen set a hand on Dende's shoulder. "That's all that matters to me."

* * *

"GOHAN! GOKU!"

The men sitting in the middle of the battlefield turned to see Lindsey running towards them, waving her arm high in the air.

"Lins!" Gohan cried as she threw herself against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and sighing with relief. He broke away from her. "I lost track of you right after the fight started! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said dismissively, wiping at her eyes. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, then paused. "Oh no. Baby, what happened to your arm?"

"Nyx," Lindsey grumbled.

"You're bleeding!" Gohan said as the sight of her started to really sink in. He frantically started looking her over. "Where's it coming from?"

"Gohan, calm down," she half-laughed. "It's not my blood. I'm okay."

Goku and Vegeta got to their feet.

"You went back into battle after I sent you away?" Goku asked angrily. He couldn't believe she would do something that stupid and openly defy him like that. She knew better.

She shook her head. "No!"

"Then whose blood is that?" he demanded.

"Jenny's," Lindsey answered.

Vegeta felt his heart stop.

"But she's okay!" Lindsey added quickly, seeing Vegeta's panicked expression. "She's okay! I promise!"

"What happened?" Gohan breathed, concern all over his face.

Lindsey was grinning from ear to ear as she looked at them. "She had the baby."

"WHAT?!" all three men gasped at once.

"She had the baby here?!" Goku cried. "In the middle of a battle?!"

Lindsey nodded proudly. "And I caught the baby when she was born." She looked down at herself, "which is why I'm… covered in blood… ew."

"Where is she?" Vegeta demanded.

Lindsey pointed back across the clearing with her good arm. "Trunks and Catie are with her. They're okay, too. Trunks is pretty beat up, but I think he'll be okay."

"Are you two okay?" Goku asked.

"Yeah, we're fine, Dad," Gohan answered. "Or, well, she will be once Dende fixes her arm."

"No, I mean, are you _two, _okay?" Goku asked Lindsey with a knowing stare.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Huh?"

Confusion crossed Goku's face and his shoulders slumped disappointedly. "But… I thought… When Nyx was kicking you…"

She stared at him with a lost expression on her face. His heart sunk.

"I… I thought you were…"

Lindsey couldn't do this to him anymore. She smiled widely and nodded. "We're okay."

"Oh! Don't do that to me!" Goku cried, clutching at his bare chest. "You… If you weren't…"

"Very articulate today, aren't we, Dad?" she asked with a smirk. "And where the hell is your shirt?"

"Oh, it caught fire. I had to-"

"What are you two talking about?" Gohan interrupted, totally bewildered.

Goku's eyes widened. "He doesn't know?!"

Lindsey shook her head. "You're the first."

"Doesn't know what?!" Gohan demanded.

Goku was practically dancing from toe to toe as everyone stared at him.

"What is it, Goku?" Krillin asked, but Goku shushed him, grinning widely at his son and daughter-in-law.

Lindsey turned nervously to her husband. This wasn't the way she'd pictured telling him this. Leave it to Goku to put her on the spot again.

"Uh, well," she said, screwing up her face, half-squinting at him. "I'm sort'a… kind'a… pregnant."

Gohan swore he misheard her. There was a funny buzzing sound in the air, like everything had gone hazy. His heart hammered against his ribs. Did he dare believe it?

"Lins," he breathed, "are… are ya sure?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

Gohan exploded with a roar of delight and swept her into his arms, kissing her fiercely. He kissed her over and over again as a knot formed in his throat and happy tears slid down his face. "Oh, baby," he cried, "this is fantastic!"

"Oh my god," Krillin breathed. "Gohan's gonna be a dad. Man, I feel old." His eyes went wider. "Goku's going to be a grandpa! Now I _really _feel old!"

Goku was grinning so wide it looked like his face would split. "Come on, Krillin! Won't this be fun?!"

Gohan looked up at his dad. "How did you know?"

Goku blinked. "Huh? Well, it was pretty obvious when she stopped fighting and was trying to protect her stomach."

Lindsey blushed. "I panicked."

"We've talked about that before, Lindsey," Goku tried to scold, but couldn't quite manage it. He was far too excited.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Gohan asked.

"Well, I was going to the other day, but when I came downstairs, you were on the phone with Seventeen and Leelee had just had her vision," Lindsey answered. "I didn't want to distract from whatever she'd found out. And then, well…"

"You knew I'd make you stay at home."

She nodded and blushed more. "I sowwy," she pouted.

He grabbed her face in both hands and stared fiercely at her. "You're so lucky I'm so happy right now or I would be so pissed at you!"

She laughed.

Goku leapt forward and swung an arm over each of their shoulders, crushing them to his sides. "I'm so happy for you guys. I can't believe you're going to have a baby! I'm finally getting a grandchild!"

"Speaking of grandchildren," Vegeta interrupted, "I think I'll go see mine now."

Goku dropped his arm back to his sides. "Vegeta, wait! Jenny… she doesn't know about Piccolo."

Lindsey peered up frantically at Goku. "What about Piccolo? Dad? What do you mean?"

Goku shook his head at her.

"I'll tell her, Kakarot," Vegeta said, steeling himself against the wave of emotions he knew Jenny would throw at him. "She is my daughter, after all." And with that, he strode across the field, trying very hard not to favor his injured leg.

Goku pointed an accusing finger at Vegeta's back and said quietly through clenched teeth, "I _knew _he felt that way about them."

"Goku, what happened to Piccolo?" Krillin asked.

Goku sighed. "Come on, let's catch up. Vegeta's only going to tell this story once."

* * *

Jenny smiled widely as Vegeta approached her. Baby Alice was sound asleep in her mother's arms, wrapped up in Trunks' coat.

"Hey," she grinned, happy tears burning the edges of her eyes as she saw Vegeta standing before her. "Come meet the new baby."

"You all right?" Vegeta asked her. The last time Jenny had given birth, it hadn't ended so well. They'd nearly lost her.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I'm okay."

Catie was sitting beside Jenny, grinning up at Vegeta, too. "Don't ask how I am. Jeez. Apparently it only matters if you pop out a kid," she teased and wrinkled her nose at him.

"Now's not the time for jokes, Catherine," Vegeta said in a somber tone.

Catie's face fell blank as she looked up at him. "What happened?"

Vegeta paused as Goku and the others stepped closer. "Jennifer, now, listen to me…"

Jenny was looking around. "Hey, where's Piccolo?" she asked. She smiled down at the baby again. "He needs to come meet his daughter."

Vegeta flinched inside. 'Damn you, Namek,' he mentally cursed Piccolo. He was so going to kick Piccolo's ass for this when he saw him in the afterlife.

"Jenny," Vegeta started again.

Her insides turned to ice. Vegeta rarely called her "Jenny" and the soft tone he used made her scared. She carefully handed Alice to Catie and got shakily to her feet. She looked like death warmed over in the early morning sunlight. She had dark circles under her eyes and her face was streaked with sweat and dirt. Leaves and twigs were tangled in her long hair and her dress was slick with dark bloodstains.

"No, don't try to get up," Vegeta scolded, but Jenny stepped closer to him anyway, ignoring the pain in her body and the blood that trickled down her legs.

"Vegeta," she said softly, her voice shaking, "where's Piccolo? Where is my husband?"

Why did she have to stare at him like that, all frightened and vulnerable? He hated dealing with this emotional stuff. He squared his shoulders and steeled himself again. "He fell in battle."

"That's not funny," she whispered, a wild look creeping into her eyes.

"You know I wouldn't joke," Vegeta stated, his voice a bit stronger.

Jenny's heart was shattering. "But… the dragonballs… we can b-bring him back… right?" she sniffled.

"He's been revived once before, Jenny," Goku put in. "The dragon won't revive someone more than once."

"No," she sobbed pitifully. The pain in her chest was so real, it made her knees buckle. Trunks rushed to her side to catch her, but she shoved him away and he fell hard on the ground as she sunk to her knees. "NOOOOOO!" she screamed, doubling over, hugging her arms around her stomach.

Gohan felt sick. Not Piccolo. He turned his back to them and sat miserably on the ground and covered his face with his hands as he listened to Jenny's wailing.

Lindsey touched his shoulder and knelt next to him. "Honey…" she whispered.

He pulled her to sit next to him, his arm around her neck, trying not to draw attention to himself. This was worse for Jenny than it was for him, but it still hurt. Piccolo was like a second dad to him.

"H-How am I sup-posed to raise th-these babies all by m-myself?" Jenny bawled. It was too much for her system. The battle… giving birth… now her husband dead… Her body started to jerk involuntarily and she was gasping for air.

"Jenny," Trunks gasped, trying to reach for her again, but she shook her head and screwed up her face. "You have to calm down. You're having a panic attack."

"SHUT UP!" she managed to yell at him. "M-MY HUSBAND IS D-DEAD!" She howled in sorrow again, laying on her side, shaking all over. She was having trouble catching her breath; she choked and gasped for air, bawling uncontrollably.

"Jennifer, control yourself," Vegeta said.

"Fuck…. You…" she hissed through clenched teeth.

It didn't phase Vegeta. He knelt next to her. "It's time to go home," he said. He grabbed her by the shoulders and sat her up, even as she leaned away from him. "Get up now."

Jenny shook her head and threw herself against his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around his back. He almost shoved her away, but her breathing was calming as she clung to him and her sobs were lessening… Oh god, he didn't know if he could do this…

He pulled her tight against him, holding her as she sobbed. He closed his eyes, trying to block everything out. He suppressed the urge to shiver, but Jenny felt it. He was hurting for her and he didn't know how to fix it. So he hauled her up against his chest better and squeezed her tighter, she rested the side of her head against his chin. He opened his eyes, staring straight ahead at the ground, trying to ignore everyone around him. He was breathing hard through his nose as she sobbed against his chest. He moved his face so that the bridge of his nose was pressed right above her ear.

"Calm down, child," he whispered. "He's not hurting now. He wouldn't want you to hurt, either."

Jenny was gasping for air, choking on her own tears.

"You're stronger than this," he continued, barely breathing the words into her ear. "I've taught you better. So did he. We knew this coming into battle. We knew it was a possibility for any of us."

"Why… him?!" she bawled.

Vegeta slowly shook his head, still leaning his face into her hair. "I don't know." If he hadn't been so desperate to calm her, to comfort her enough to get her to agree to go home, he wouldn't have done it. He pressed his lips against her temple, holding them there as he looked over at the baby in Catie's arms. It was too cold out for the infant. They needed to get home, to let Bulma look the baby over… He lifted his face and spoke over the top of Jenny's head. "Catherine, bring the child here."

Catie got up and walked to them, carefully cradling Alice in her arms. She crouched down and handed the baby to Jenny, who pulled the infant to her chest as Vegeta still held her.

"Beat it," he barked at Catie. She hastily stepped back, tripping over Trunks and had to catch her balance.

"You can't fall apart," Vegeta spoke softly to Jenny again as he looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms. "She needs you. Paige needs you. You must be strong."

Jenny was calming, staring sadly down at her daughter. "I just… am so… sad that she'll… never know… who her father was."

"Are you mad?" Vegeta scoffed loudly. "Of course she'll know who he was! You've lost your mind."

She blinked at him in surprise. His face was very close to hers as he spoke sternly. "You will not dishonor his memory like that. She will know what her father did to protect her. She will know that he died a warrior's death, defending you and sacrificing himself to better this world for her. He died to protect her."

Tears were still sliding down Jenny's face and she nodded.

"Who died?" came a deep voice.

Jenny's heart stopped as she looked up. "PICCOLO!" she screamed.

His clothing was ripped to shreds, his cape and turban long ago thrown aside in battle, but he looked unhurt as he stared down at her, his arms crossed over his chest. He couldn't help but smirk as the surprise on her face.

"YOU TOLD ME HE WAS DEAD!" she screamed at Vegeta and started slapping every inch of him that she could reach.

Vegeta cringed away from her. "I THOUGHT HE WAS!"

"Oh ye of little faith, Vegeta," Piccolo smirked.

"I saw that dragon shake you like a ragdoll!" Vegeta bellowed, getting to his feet. "There's no way anyone could have survived that!"

Piccolo sighed. "Will you all ever remember that Nameks can regenerate as long as our heads aren't damaged?"

Jenny clambered to her feet and threw herself against Piccolo, wrapping one arm around his waist, hugging him tightly before she stepped back and adjusted the baby in her arms.

"Jenny," Piccolo breathed, looking down at the baby she held. "You…"

She gave him a watery smile. "She was impatient. She wanted to meet her daddy today."

He marveled at the tiny baby in his wife's arms. He dropped to his knees, placing a shaking hand on the tiny baby's head. He was so much taller than Jenny that standing on his knees made them almost an equal height. His heart swelled at the sight of the baby. He gently took her from Jenny, tucking her into the crook of his arm, and smiled. "Good job, Jen," he said softly. "She's perfect."

"Ah, I had some help," Jenny tried to say cockily, but she sniffled, ruining the affect. "Her dad makes pretty good babies."

Piccolo blinked slowly and smiled up at her. "I guess so. I should really meet this guy."

"Oh, Piccolo!" she scolded and punched his shoulder as he flinched away from her and laughed.

Catie hastily wiped her eyes.

Trunks lightly punched her leg. "Crybaby," he teased.

She stared fiercely down at him and for a second he thought she was going to scream at him again.

"Shut up," she said and dove on top of him, smothering his mouth with her own.

Victory roared in Trunks' chest as he lay on the cold ground, his arms wrapped around Catie as she kissed him more passionately than ever before. His closed eyes screwed up… so much for making fun of others for crying happy tears…

Gohan had turned around and was laughing. "Hey you two! Get a room!"

Trunks broke the kiss for a second while Catie continued to kiss at his neck. "Shut up, Gohan."

"They'd better take that make-up sex back to Capsule Corp," Lindsey muttered. "I don't wanna listen to it."

"I've been listening to the two of you for months!" Trunks shouted. "I don't even wanna hear it, Lindsey!" Lindsey flinched. She hadn't meant for anyone but Gohan to hear what she'd said.

"Shut up, assbutt!" Lindsey shot at him.

Trunks was laughing too hard. "M-Make me, bitchcakes."

Goku raised his eyebrows. He didn't know where these names were coming from and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Can we go home now?" Jenny asked.

Piccolo nodded and handed the baby back to Jenny. He scooped his wife into his arms and kissed her. "Let's go home."


	31. Reclaimed

Trunks led the way through the empty house up to his guestroom. "You sure you don't wanna just wait downstairs?" he asked nervously. "I can just grab my stuff real quick and then we can head home."

Catie put her hands on her hips. "Why don't you want me to see your room?"

"It's, uh, kind'a a mess," he laughed nervously as he opened the door.

"Oh it can't be any worse than… Oh my god," she stopped when she saw his room. Clothes were strung everywhere, the bed was unmade, books and movies and cups were piled on the dresser and bedside table.

Trunks nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry."

"No, it's..." she trailed off, looking around. "I can't lie to you, Trunks. This is atrocious."

He laughed. "I know. I've been so distracted with the fight, I didn't clean up much."

She was looking at the picture of herself on his bedside table. She picked it up and flipped it around to face him, raising her eyebrows. "You kept my picture?"

"Well, yeah," he grinned. "Why wouldn't I?"

She shrugged and looked at it before setting it back down.

Trunks looked at the floor and chewed his lip. This was really awkward. They hadn't been alone together in over six months. And now here she was, chastising him about cleaning his room.

"Trunks," she said softly as she stepped closer to him.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking up and meeting her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"No," he shook his head. "I am."

"You already apologized," she answered. "I should've listened to you. It wasn't your fault. You…"

"Shut up," he said and covered her mouth with his.

She melted as he kissed her, sliding his hands around her waist, pulling her body closer to his. She suddenly pulled away from him. "Stop, stop, stop."

Trunks sighed. "What's wrong now?"

"I'm disgusting," she said. "And so are you."

He laughed. "Wanna take a shower?"

She bit her bottom lip and grinned, nodding her head. He grabbed her by the hand and dragged her into the bathroom.

"Oh, at least it's cleaner in here," she remarked.

"Ha ha," he said, pulling his black shirt over his head.

Catie's breath caught in her throat at the sight of his bare chest. Oh, she'd forgotten how much she loved to stare at him. She hastily yanked off her Saiyan armor and dropped it noisily to the tile floor, then peeled off the dark blue uniform.

Trunks was adjusting the water in the shower. He kicked off his boots and unbuckled his belt, yanking his pants down.

"Mmmm, dat ass," Catie giggled, reaching over to grab him.

Trunks blushed.

She pulled the rubber band from her hair and untwisted her braid. She slipped into the shower, crooking her finger at him to follow.

God, that hot water felt good. It soothed Trunks' aching muscles as he stood under the streaming showerhead. Catie reached up and pulled the tie out of his hair, loosing it to fall over his back. She slid her hands around his waist, pressing her chest to his back, hugging him tightly.

Trunks was breathing heavily, closing his eyes contentedly at her embrace. He'd missed her so much. He flinched as he felt her trail her nails up the front of his thigh.

"You cold?" she asked softly. "You've got goosebumps."

He shook his head. "No. You do that to me." He turned to stare at her, the water from the shower trailing over his face and shoulders, rinsing away the dirt and dried blood.

"You must be sore from fighting," she said.

"I'm all right," he answered.

"Still," she said, measuring out a generous amount of soap in her hand. "Let me help you."

Trunks smiled to himself as he watched her hands trail up his stomach, leaving suds in their wake. She ran her hands up to massage the muscles of his chest, then squeezed his shoulders, bringing her hands down over his biceps. She took one of his hands and rubbed his palm with her thumbs, then did the other. She ran her hands down his sides, over his hips to the front of his legs, her touch erasing every ache and pain from his sore muscles.

"Turn around," she said.

He obeyed her and pulled his long hair around the side of his neck, exposing his back. He moaned as she rubbed harshly at his back.

"See?" she said. "You are sore."

He nodded. "Mm-hmm." Her hands slid down, trailing over the scar in the small of his back to grab his ass and he hissed at her touch.

She smiled to herself, running her hands down the backs of his legs, loving the sight of the water rinsing away the lather she left on his skin, the little rivers tracing every chiseled line of his body. She stood closer, pressing herself against his back again and slid her hands around to the front of his hips.

Trunks was taking deep, shaky breaths as he watched her hands slowly sliding across him, closer to the one spot she'd conspicuously not touched yet. He grew harder as she ran her hands along the front of his thighs again, tracing the line between his thigh and his hip, her hand coming to a rest at the base of his shaft.

"Please, Catie," he whispered.

Open handed, she trailed her fingers up the length of him and smiled again as he shivered at her touch. She closed her fingers around him and began to stroke him, gripping him tightly, her hand sliding easily over him because of the soap in her hand. He put his hands on the front wall of the shower to steady himself as she hugged her chest to his back with one arm and stroked him with the other. Holy shit, that felt amazing. He watched her hand slide up and down his shaft, twisting over the head of it, driving him insane as the soap bubbled and foamed from her slick touch. Her other hand trailed down his side to cup him under the base of his shaft, gently rolling the sensitive flesh in her fingers, making him moan deep in his throat. She squeezed them gently as her other hand stroked him faster.

"Harder," he panted and groaned again as her grip tightened on him. He couldn't stop himself. It felt too good… She was stroking and tugging at him so hard… With a growl, Trunks tensed as he came hard in her hand, his whole body shuddering as it spilled over her fingers… She slowly slid her hand down and gripped him hard one last time, sliding back up to squeeze every drop out of his shaft…

"Holy shit," he breathed, shaking all over as he looked under his shoulder at her, his hand still pressed high against the shower wall.

She was grinning. "You like that?"

He nodded, trying to catch his breath. He drew a deep breath and pushed away from the wall, turning to her. "Your turn to get cleaned up."

A smile pulled at her lips as she stepped into the hot stream of water and Trunks scooted around behind her. She tilted her face up to the shower and let the water run through her hair, rinsing away the dirt and the sweat. She smiled when she felt Trunks' fingers in her hair, massaging her scalp.

"Sorry it's guy's shampoo," Trunks said. "You'll have to deal with it."

She didn't mind at all. She loved the smell of his hair and if hers smelled like it for a day or two, well, that was fine with her. His hands moved down to the back of her neck, rubbing her sore muscles just as she had done for him. His strong fingers worked over her shoulders, dipping far down over her collarbones to the point just above her cleavage. His hands gripped her body firmly as he ran them over her shoulders and down her arms, pulling her back against his body. His hands slid across her stomach, up to her breasts. He squeezed them, his fingertips digging into the heavy curves. She whimpered as the pads of his middle fingers flicked side to side over her nipples, teasing them and making them firm at his touch. He lifted the curves in his hands, pulling her tighter against his chest and pinched her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, twisting and rolling them as she moaned. She pressed her hips back against him over and over, making him hard again. He slid his right hand down her stomach, between her legs, opening his fingers in a V to expose the sensitive flesh. He grabbed the showerhead and unhooked it, bringing it down in front of her to stream the hot water over her. She gasped and writhed against him.

Trunks bent his knees slightly and slid his hard shaft between her legs, hesitating for a moment. She gasped as she felt him there, waiting for her response. The hot water was shooting against her between his fingers, the tip of his erection pressing against the opening to her body. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to have him. She pressed herself against him, crying out as he slid into her in one slick, harsh rush. He growled against the back of her neck as her body covered him. She was so tight and hot… The water from the showerhead ran down between her soft lips as he spread them open with his fingers and trailed over his own sensitive skin.

Catie moaned as Trunks began to thrust into her, his hard shaft delving deep into her body. He clicked something on the showerhead and the stream of water began to pulsate, tapping out a rhythm on her. She felt herself beginning to climax as he quickened his pace and the hot water beat against her…

"Oh, god! Oh, TRUNKS!" she cried out as her body clenched on him, sending waves of pleasure shooting through her body. She was trembling as he thrust faster into her, his own climax building now… He cried out her name as he came again, filling her body hotly as he shuddered in pleasure.

Weakly, he hooked the showerhead back in place and leaned his forehead against the back of her head.

"Trunks?" she asked softly.

"Huh?"

"Can we get out? The water's going cold."

He nodded and reached around her to shut it off, then shivered as he withdrew from her body. "Wow," he breathed.

She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him fiercely. He lifted her against his chest, still kissing her, and threw open the shower curtain, stepping out onto the bathmat. She lowered her feet to the floor and pulled back from the kiss. "I don't have any clean clothes," she said.

"Here," he answered, handing her a towel. "Wear that."

"But what if they come home?" Catie protested.

"Dende has a lot of people to heal," Trunks answered. "I think we've got plenty of time."

She nodded and wrapped the towel around her chest as he tied one around his waist.

"You hungry?" he asked.

She nodded and followed him down to the kitchen. She sat on a barstool at the kitchen island while he opened the refrigerator. "What're you in the mood for?"

"I dunno," she said, resting her chin in her hand.

"You want me to make you a sandwich?" he asked.

She wrinkled her nose.

"Okay," he said, turning back to the fridge. "No sandwich. Hmmm. I can make you some waffles."

"Ooh!" she grinned. "With syrup?"

He stood up straighter and smiled back. "LOTS of syrup."

They both bolted for the pantry, grabbing the box mix and the bottle of maple syrup.

"Gimme," Catie growled, trying to wrench the bottle of syrup from his hand.

"Nope," he grinned, holding it tighter.

Her towel slid to the floor as she struggled to take control of the bottle. Trunks' eyes went wide at the sight of her naked body and he loosened his grip.

"HA!" Catie yelled triumphantly.

"Cheater," he muttered.

"Aww, does Trunks want the syrup?" she asked, walking backwards out of the pantry as she dripped some on her fingers. She slowly sucked the syrup from them. "Mmmm. It's soooo good."

He fixed his eyes on her. "You better share."

She smirked and cocked an eyebrow at him. "If you want any of this, you'll have to lick it off," she purred as she drizzled it over her chest.

"Mine," Trunks growled and grabbed her waist, dropping the bisquick on the floor where the box burst open. He lowered his face to her breasts, slowly licking the sticky substance from her skin.

"Oh god," she moaned, her eyes wide. She tipped the bottle back and let it drip into her opened mouth. "Mmmm…. That's good."

Trunks ran his tongue up the valley between her breasts to her throat, sucking harshly at her neck. He threw away the towel and picked her up to sit on the kitchen island. He kissed his way up to her jaw… her lips… She grabbed his face with her free hand and placed the mouth of the bottle to his lips, the sweet syrup sliding over his tongue, then she grabbed the back of his head and crushed her lips to his, their tongues dancing against each other, the taste of maple strong in their mouths. She gripped his shoulders with her nails as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer again. She broke the kiss and swallowed, then drizzled more syrup over his chest and spread it with her hands. Catie ferociously dove at his chest to lick every last drop from those chiseled muscles, his collarbones, his nipples…

Trunks sucked air between his teeth as her hot mouth trailed over him. He pulled her to the edge of the counter, wanting her again. He grabbed the bottle and left a trail of syrup from her neck to her shoulder and began to suck it off of her skin as he drove himself into her.

"Oh god, yessss," she gasped as his hard length filled her once more. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him into her harshly. She licked at his ear, biting it gently and he responded by thrusting harder, faster…

"CATIE," he growled as his body slammed into hers, her hot wetness clutching at him, driving him wild. He couldn't get enough.

"Oh yeah," she moaned, digging her nails into his shoulders, leaning her head back. He captured her breast in his mouth, sucking and nipping at it, holding it between his teeth while he flicked his tongue over it. Catie gave a high-pitched gasp and pulled him into her harder with her legs. He was so hard and thick, driving deeper inside her. She clenched her teeth as she felt it building, that white-hot pleasure ripping through her body again. She screamed out as the orgasm washed over her.

Trunks was panting, his face between her breasts, fucking her faster, the wet from her body dripping down him… It hit him hard and fast and Trunks roared with pleasure as he felt himself fill her again, his shaft shooting deep inside her. He slowed his pace, resting his head hard against her chest.

"I'm not hungry anymore," he panted.

"I am," she said, a devilish look in her eyes.

"Huh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know I'm really not that good of a cook."

"I'm not hungry for food," she grinned and slid from the island top. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room with her. She turned and shoved him backwards, making him flop into the seat of the recliner.

"Oh god, Cat," he sighed, closing his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she demanded, her hands on her hips.

"I don't know if I can…" he drew a deep breath, "just gimme a minute."

She crossed her arms and huffed impatiently. He suddenly grinned up at her. "Okay, I'm good."

She smiled and dropped to her knees in front of him, taking him in her hand again. He sighed contentedly and relaxed back into the chair as she gently stroked him. He trailed his hands through her blue-streaked brown hair, smiling at her. "I love you," he said softly.

"I love you, too," she answered as she looked up at him.

He licked his lips as he stared at her; she was still gently pulling at him, gradually making him hard once more. His heart was full-to-bursting. He was so happy to have her back. He'd lock Gohan out of his own house just to spend the day making love to her. He didn't know what had changed her mind, but he wasn't going to question it. Not now, at least. He finally had her back in his life and he was never letting go.

He hissed as her hot mouth slid over him, sucking and pulling at his shaft, which hardened even more. Her tongue danced up and down his length, making him moan low in his throat.

"Oh fuck, Cat," he whispered.

She stared up at him with those dark green eyes as they glowed with excitement and affection for him. She pulled him deeper into her mouth, sucking harshly, then releasing, trailing her tongue up to twirl around the head of his erection.

"Oh-h-h-h god," he moaned. He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, squeezing it and pulling her mouth over him again. He pulled her head lower, raising his hips to meet her lips. "You can take it," he whispered and she nodded, sliding her lips all the way to the base of his shaft.

"Holy shit," Trunks gasped, his voice a bit higher than he would've liked for it to be. He could feel her throat around him as she pressed her face against his body. "Catie," he panted. "You gotta… you gotta stop."

She moved her head faster, sucking him harder, her nails digging into his knees. He was shaking all over, trying to control himself, to hold back…

"Catie… I can't… nnnnn… please… I… ahhhh… I'm gonna come!"

He got the opposite reaction of what he was expecting. She moved faster still, her mouth sucking him so hard, the first few inches of his hard length in her throat… she moaned, long and loud, the vibration from her throat sending him over the edge…

Trunks couldn't stop himself. He came hard again, crying out in surprise and pleasure as his shaft emptied into her throat. "Oh, FUCK!" he shouted as his heart raced. He was sweating all over, his hands and knees trembling, his every nerve completely shot. She'd never done _that _before. "Fuck! Why did you… oh my… shit… holy… good god… oh my holy fuckin' fuck."

She withdrew her mouth with a satisfied smack of her lips. "Did you enjoy that?" she purred.

"GOOD LORD, WOMAN," he stated, his eyes wide. "You trying to kill me?"

"You'd die happy," she answered.

He fell back against the recliner, laughing. "Oh my sweet fucking mother of god."

She crawled into the chair to straddle his lap. "More?"

He nodded. "Seriously, though. Give me a second this time. For real."

She sat on his thighs, watching him as he gasped for air and shakily ran his fingers through his long lavender hair.

"You okay?" she asked slowly.

He nodded, still breathing hard. "Dammit, why'd Lindsey quit smoking? I think I need one right now."

"Oh hush," Catie said, twisting around to lay against his chest. "You act like I violated you or something."

"No," he breathed. "You make me feel amazing."

She smiled softly and lightly trailed her nails along his abs. "I missed you," she said softly.

He closed his eyes at the pain in her voice. "I missed you, too," he answered, breathing lighter now. "I missed you every single day."

She nodded and buried her face into the side of his neck. "I don't ever want to lose you again."

He wrapped his arms around her. "Shhhh. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here now. I'm so sorry for what I did, Catie."

She slapped his chest hard. "SHUT UP. We never speak of it again. It never happened."

Relief flooded through his chest and his throat constricted. "Thank you," he whispered.

She kissed him again, slow and deep, tangling her fingers in his hair. He hugged her tighter, kissing her back, wanting her to know how much he loved her. He lifted her in his arms and stood up, carrying her across the living room. He sat her on the stairs and knelt a few steps below her.

"Trunks," she whispered.

He grabbed her knees and spread her legs wide, marveling at her body. "You are so gorgeous, Cat."

She blushed.

He smiled at her as he lowered his face to her, keeping his hands on her knees. She hissed as he kissed her body, his lips warm against her sensitive flesh. He licked her, slowly dragging his tongue over her. She moaned and tangled her fingers in his hair again. He slowly licked and sucked gently at her, making her gasp and moan at his every touch. He lightly blew against her, the cool wind making her shiver, and quickly captured her in his warm mouth again.

"Oh god, Trunks," she whispered.

He was pulling at that one sensitive spot with his lips, flicking it with his tongue, making her ache inside. She was gasping and pulling at her own hair. "Oh, baby, I want you."

He shook his head slowly, smiling, as he continued to pleasure her with his tongue.

"Dammit, Trunks, please?"

"Mm-mmm," he answered and sucked her harder. He trailed a finger along her wet slit, teasing her more.

"I want it inside me," she begged in a whisper. He twirled his finger around the opening to her body, tormenting her. She whimpered, trying to raise her hips to press his fingers into her, but he wouldn't allow it. "Dammit, Trunks," she hissed again.

He pressed his face harder against her, burying it between her legs, licking her furiously as she bucked her hips against him. She could feel herself coming… She arched her back and screamed out as another orgasm ripped through her body.

She collapsed back against the stairs, panting. "Oh… wow."

Trunks sat up and licked his lips, smiling at her. "Turn about's fair play," he grinned.

"Son of a bitch."

He snickered. "Come here," he said, grabbing her around the waist and hauling her over his shoulder.

She shrieked and laughed as he carried her back down the stairs. Keeping her over his shoulder, he swiped his arm across the coffee table, throwing Lindsey's books to the floor. He dropped Catie on her feet and he laid back across the short table. Her eyes went wide with excitement as she climbed on top of him, not wasting a second, and slid her body over his hard length again.

"Fuck yes," he groaned as she rode him. He grabbed her hips and pulled her down on his throbbing shaft, wanting her all over again.

The hard surface made it easy for her to bounce on him, driving him deep inside her. She slid her hot sheath over him again and again, reveling in the way he filled her so perfectly. She slammed her body down on him, feeling herself stretch to accommodate his size. He was growling at her, telling her to fuck him harder, that she was amazing, the best he'd ever had…

Catie's hair flashed to green as she drove herself over him as hard as she could.

"Oh, that's how we're gonna play, huh?" he asked devilishly as he powered up and his hair turned to long, golden spikes.

She groaned loudly as every muscle of his body bulged… he was bigger, thicker inside her now… harder even… Her body was aching deliciously as she rode him…

Catie's stomach swooped as the coffee table collapsed under them without warning and Trunks' erection plunged deep and sharp into her as they hit the floor.

"Shit!" he shouted.

Catie didn't stop. She ground herself against him, rubbing her clit against his pelvis. It was so good, she couldn't stop. He was lifting his hips so she could pull him deeper into her, grinding down on him so hard…

"Ah, ah, ah, ah," she gasped, desperate to climax again, wanting every bit of him.

Trunks' breath was coming out in harsh huffs between clenched teeth, gripping her hips hard as she clutched at him, pulled at him, his shaft so hard and swollen it almost hurt…

"MORE," he growled, thrusting powerfully into her. She was rocking her hips hard against him, bringing him and herself closer… She suddenly screamed and clenched down on him and he yelled out too, her body squeezing every ounce of it from his shaft…

She powered down and fell over his chest, her hair falling into his face. She couldn't catch her breath this time. They were sweaty and still smelled like maple syrup, their bodies blissed out from so much pleasure… But Trunks was still hard.

"One more time," he panted, his incredibly long hair still spiked and golden.

She sat up with him still inside her and looked down at him. "Trunks… I don't know… if I can…"

"Yes, you can," he said with a determined look and sat up. He cautiously got to his feet, lifting her with him, slowly rocking his hips into her.

"No more hard surfaces," she panted. "My knees hurt." She leaned her head on his shoulder as he began to climb the stairs, his strong hands holding her by the backs of her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist and hugged his shoulders. He hesitated at the top of the stairs; his room was a disaster. Trying not to smirk, he headed for the other bedroom… the one with the big four-poster bed…

Catie gasped as Trunks carried her into the room. "We can't have sex in their bed!"

"Shh," he hushed her. "They'll never know." He sat on the edge of the bed, still holding her close and began to rock.

Catie sighed contentedly at his slow, sensual pace. She was getting tired, her body aching wonderfully. It was so comforting, the way he held her, rocked her, slowly and shallowly sliding in and out of her body. He was sucking at her neck, his hot mouth pulling at her skin. She lightly bit his shoulder, scraping her teeth over the scar there… the scar she'd left the first time they'd made love. He growled softly in his throat. She kissed it, trailed her tongue over it, bit it a little harder. He tensed his back and shoulders.

"You don't know what you're doing," he warned.

She giggled and stopped. She sat back a bit to look in his eyes. "You don't want me to?"

"Of course I do," he answered. "But you're asking for it if you do that. My scars are sensitive. You know that."

"I know," she whispered, trailing her nails along the crescent-shaped scar again and smiled as he shivered.

"Catie, don't…"

"Try to stop me," she grinned and grabbed his wrists. She slid off of him and stood at the edge of the bed. He was strong enough to pull away from her, he knew it, but suddenly he felt his arms being pulled back across the bed… Catie's hair was green again and she was tying him to the bedposts with thick vines.

"Oh, you're bad," he grinned and laid back on the bed, letting her tie him up. Before he knew it, both of his arms and legs were bound to the bed, the strong vines wrapped around the four bedposts.

"Now I get to have my way with you," she smirked, crawling onto the bed. She kissed his lips fiercely, then his jaw, his neck, his shoulder… She was running her hands all over him… She scraped her nails over the scar on his neck again.

"Cat," he said in a warning voice.

She crawled over top of him and slid her hand between his back and the bed. "I am gonna make you come _so_ hard," she whispered and she rubbed the tips of her fingers against the scar on his back where his tail had been.

His every muscle tensed as a jolt shot up his spine. He growled loud through clenched teeth. He tried to raise his hips to her, but she lifted just out of his reach.

"Please," he begged, his eyes fierce. "I can't handle this."

"Yes you can," she purred, rubbing her fingers against the scar again.

It made him ache. He wanted her now more than ever. He was so hard. It throbbed and ached, he could feel the bead forming at the tip and dripping down his length.

Catie leaned over him and wrapped her lips over the scar on his neck, scraping her teeth against it.

"CATIE!" he shouted, almost angrily.

She giggled and lowered herself over him, her hot, wet body taking him completely again.

He gasped and felt the tiniest bit of relief as her slick heat began to slide over him, pulling at him, their bodies meeting again and again, faster… harder… She was so incredibly tight on his shaft… squeezing him… milking him… His body tensed, he was so close…

Catie bit down on his shoulder, her teeth breaking through the old scar as her fingertips dug into the scar on his back. Something snapped in him and he bit her back with a snarl, opening up her old scar as his shaft plunged deep into her, flooding her with that hot liquid from his body as the orgasm rocked his every nerve to the core. He was in pure ecstasy, his energy making the room crackle with the rawness of it, the primal, Saiyan blood coursing powerfully through his body as he reclaimed her as his mate. He was shaking violently as his nerves ripped from pure bliss… His whole body was on fire as he continued to pour into her body, coming harder inside her than he ever had before… He'd never had an orgasm last this long… His consciousness was slipping away as she screamed through her teeth against his shoulder… Everything went black…

He heard his name as if from very far away. Catie was slapping at his chest, frantically screaming his name.

"Shut up," he whispered without opening his eyes.

"Oh, Trunks!" she gasped, laying over his chest. She sniffled. "Are you okay? What happened? You scared the shit out of me!"

The vines had retracted, freeing his wrists and ankles. He could hardly move. He was shivering all over… He was still inside her…

"I need a second," he said softly. "Get up, Cat."

He shuddered as she pulled away from him. It hurt to breathe. He was exhausted. Absolutely, totally, blissfully exhausted.

"What happened?" she whispered.

He cracked an eye open at her. "You made me… come… so hard… I passed out."

Her eyes went wide and she giggled. "I did?"

He nodded, closing his eyes again. She snuggled up to his side and laid her head on his chest. "I love you, Trunks."

"Love you too, Cat."

* * *

"Man, I'm so glad to be home," Gohan yawned, opening the front door to his house. "All I want is a hot shower and to sleep for the next week." He paused and looked at his wife. "Your arm okay?"

Lindsey nodded. "Yeah, Dende fixed it just fine," she said, rubbing her shoulder.

"Good thing we have him," Gohan grinned as they walked inside. "Can you imagine if we…" He trailed off as his eyes scanned over the broken coffee table. He powered up, his hair turning blond, and he put a protective arm back towards his wife.

"What is it?" she gasped.

"Someone's in the house," he answered.

"My coffee table!" she shouted. "Damn it!"

"Get out of the house," Gohan said softly.

"Like hell I will," she snapped. "I'm gonna beat 'em with the coffee table leg." She stepped around him, cautiously walking through her house.

Gohan watched her as he tested the atmosphere, trying to sense someone's energy. There was something upstairs, but whoever they were, their power level was crazy low.

"Oh what the hell?!" Lindsey shouted from the kitchen.

Gohan cast a glance up the stairs. Whoever was up there wasn't moving and he hurried to the kitchen.

"There's syrup and pancake mix everywhere!" Lindsey growled.

Gohan's hair fell back to its normal black. "What?" he asked, screwing up his face in disbelief.

Lindsey was looking around, putting the pieces together. "And towels on the floor." Realization dawned on her face and her jaw dropped. "They had sex in our kitchen!"

Gohan blinked. "Who?"

"Trunks and Catie!"

"In our _kitchen?!"_

"I know!" Lindsey cried. "We're the only ones supposed to do that."

Gohan snickered at that. "Not until you clean this place."

Lindsey wrinkled her nose.

"We should go tell 'em off," Gohan chuckled. "They're upstairs."

They ran up the stairs, eager to rib their friends, but stopped when they realized that the weakened energy was coming from their own room instead of the guest room.

"Oh hell no," Lindsey muttered. She stomped down the hall and threw open the door. "IN MY BED?!" she screeched at them.

Gohan remained at the top of the stairs, equally amused and embarrassed as he heard Trunks and Catie scrambling around, apologizing profusely as his wife yelled at them. A shiver shot down his spine as Lindsey's yelling reminded him dangerously of his mother.

"You are going to clean my kitchen! And wash my sheets! And buy me a new coffee table! Never in my life… My bed?! REALLY?!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Trunks shouted as Catie promised, "We'll fix it!"

"DAMN RIGHT YOU WILL!"

Gohan doubled over in laughter and hid his face as Trunks and Catie hurried past him to Trunks' room, both of them wrapped in sheets as red as their faces.


	32. Paige's First Birthday

"Seventeen, I don't want to go," Leelee said sadly, sitting on their blue couch, her knees drawn up to her chest.

"Leelee, we've been through this," Seventeen sighed, pulling his boots on. "It's for Jenny's daughter. You know how upset she'll be if you're not there."

Leelee shrugged and wrapped her arms around her shins. "Doesn't matter."

He sighed again. Leelee hadn't taken well to the news that her scars were likely permanent. She'd cried, begging Dende to fix it, but he sadly apologized over and over that there was nothing more he could do. When the others arrived to see Dende, she had grabbed Seventeen and run, not wanting them to see her. She hadn't left the apartment since and that had been nearly three weeks ago.

She wore as many clothes as possible to cover herself, even to bed, and would firmly lock the door to the bathroom when she showered, keeping Seventeen out. He tried to tell her it didn't matter to him, that he still loved her, but she was so ashamed by her appearance that she refused to believe him.

He sat next to her on the couch and wrapped a heavily muscled arm around her shoulders. "Please, babe, come on."

She sniffled. "I don't want them to see me."

"They still love you anyway," he told her. "It's Paige's birthday. Her first birthday. You gonna let her down?"

Leelee wiped her eyes with the cuff of her sleeve. "No, I guess not."

"All right," Seventeen said, giving a sharp nod and standing. "Let's go."

* * *

"Eighteen, is your brother and Leelee gonna be here?" Sabriena asked, flopping down on the couch at Capsule Corp, a glass of punch in her hand. She'd returned home after the battle, but had come back to Japan for Paige's birthday, just like she promised.

Eighteen shook her head. "I don't know. Leelee's still pretty upset about those burn marks."

"Are they bad?" Gohan asked, sitting down next to Sabriena.

"I don't know what her scars look like," Eighteen answered softly. "Her burns were terrible. I… I've never seen anything like that before." She closed her eyes and shuddered.

Gohan frowned sadly. "Dende wouldn't talk about it. He looked like he'd seen a ghost or something. He's really disturbed by it."

"What'd it look like?" Sabriena asked with far too much curiosity in her voice.

Eighteen simply shook her head and refused to speak any more.

"Here's the birthday girl!" Bulma cried, carrying Paige into the room, closely followed by Jenny, who was carrying baby Alice. Paige was in a super frilly pink dress, trimmed in white lace, and her shocking pink hair was pulled up in high, curly pigtails.

Bulma sat Paige on the floor and she stood, clinging to Bulma's leg.

"Aw, she can stand now?" Gohan gasped, sliding to the floor and holding his arms out to her. "Can she walk?"

"A little," Jenny grinned. She bent over to Paige and pointed. "Go get uncle Gohan."

Paige followed her mom's arm and her face split in a wide grin when she saw him sitting on the floor. "GO-GO!" she cried. "Go go go go go!" She let go of Bulma and took wobbly, toddling steps towards Gohan.

"Atta girl!" he grinned, leaning out for her. He scooped her off the floor as soon as she got within arms reach. Paige squealed in delight as Gohan hugged her, saying, "Nom nom nom nom nom!"

"Awww, Gohan, you're going to be such a good dad," Bulma gushed as she sat on the arm of Vegeta's chair.

He blushed. "Ya think so?"

Bulma nodded, sipping her punch.

Goku had gotten to his feet and was peering over Jenny's shoulder at Alice. "She's so tiny!" he grinned.

The littlest Namek yawned in her sleep and nuzzled closer into her mother's arms. "You wanna hold her?" Jenny offered.

Goku's eyes went wide. "Sure," he answered softly. He grinned as Jenny tucked the baby into the crook of his arm. "Hey there," he said lightly. "You look just like your daddy."

Piccolo closed his eyes, trying to keep his patience with Goku.

Alice did resemble Piccolo more than her sister did. Her skin was a shade darker green than Paige's was, and Alice's hair was such a light shade of pink, it was almost white. The points on her ears were more pronounced.

"Did we miss anything?" came Seventeen's voice as he and Leelee entered.

They were greeted with a roar of delight, their friends happy that they were able to make it. Leelee carried a pink-wrapped present and set it on the table against the wall with the mountain of other presents waiting for Paige, most of which had been bought by Bulma.

"Thanks," Jenny smiled.

Leelee answered, "You're welcome," and looked to the floor, tugging the neck of her turtleneck up higher and letting her braids fall down the left side of her face.

Jenny tilted her head slightly to the side. "You okay, honey?" she asked softly.

Leelee nodded. "It's just cold in here," she said and went to sit between Seventeen and Eighteen on the couch, trying to move as little as possible. The scars were vaguely numb and anything moving against them too much, like the waist of her jeans, made them feel weird and uncomfortable.

"Glad you're here," Eighteen said softly.

Leelee nodded. She prayed everyone would just leave her alone, just ignore her. She didn't want to face them. Not yet. She was grateful that the burns only came up on her neck, along her jaw line, and not over her face.

Luckily, Jenny distracted everyone with presenting the gifts to Paige who happily shredded every single scrap of wrapping paper. She giggled at the new dollies, stared in wonder at the toy cell phone that lit up and made noise (she held it to her ear, then handed it to Piccolo, who blushed as he held it up to his own ear to appease his daughter), and she fell in love with a big pink teddy bear that was twice her size. She kept trying to drag it across the living room floor and falling on her bottom, making angry faces and getting up to try again.

Lindsey and Catie soon passed out plates of cake and ice cream to everyone and Paige was sat in a high chair with a little cake of her own, which she quickly smashed with her fingers and spread all over her face.

"She's going to be an artist," Lindsey remarked. "She's expressing herself by wearing the cake instead of eating it. It's a statement."

"Baby Gaga," Sabriena snickered and Lindsey laughed loudly. "She'll be wearing a dress made of meat next."

"Better not," Piccolo growled. He had no idea who she was talking about, but he was pretty sure he didn't want to know.

"Ah, you're no fun, Piccolo," Sabriena sighed, sitting down on the couch, bumping against Tien. "Oh, sorry," she muttered.

"You're okay," he answered and scooted a bit away from her, hastily taking another bite of his cake.

Lindsey sat down on Sabriena's other side. "We should get a bunch of little plastic steaks," Lindsey said softly.

Sabriena's eyes lit up. "And sew 'em to a dress?"

Lindsey was snickering. "And put it on Paige."

"Teach her to sing 'Born This Way'," Sabriena giggled.

"Get her a big pair of sunglasses and a microphone," Lindsey was laughing harder, the mental image growing in her head.

Sabriena leaned over, practically in Tien's lap, laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. He blinked down at her and she sat back up, completely oblivious to the faint blush that touched his nose and cheeks.

"We're going to hell," Lindsey laughed.

"Yes, you are," Piccolo grumbled, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Shit, bitch," Sabriena snorted. "We're driving the bus."

"WOOT!" Lindsey cried, throwing her hands in the air. "Road trip!"

They collapsed into giggles again, falling all over the couch.

"Honey, calm down," Gohan said in a warning voice.

"Oh don't you start," Lindsey said, sniffling and sitting up straight again. She whispered to Sabriena, "He's been in over-protective husband mode."

Sabriena rolled her eyes. "Another reason why Sabriena will never have children."

"Never?" Goku asked, looking up from his cake. He swallowed. "Why not?"

"Pshhhh," she scoffed. "You think I'm going to mess this up just to bring a drooling, crying, pooping mess into my life?" she asked, holding her arms out from her sides, indicating her body. "Nope. I work too hard for this."

"Or you paid too much," Lindsey snickered.

"You know, I've been thinking about that," Sabriena answered loudly. "I was thinking about getting my boobs done. What do you think?"

Jenny blinked across the room at her. "You're really talking about that now?"

Sabriena looked back innocently. "What? I was thinking about getting a lift. Or maybe a reduction. These things make my back hurt."

"Couldn't have anything to do with your shit posture, could it?" Jenny teased.

"Yeah, but," Sabriena paused to push her shoulders back. "See? That makes 'em look even bigger! I don't want that much more attention."

"Mm-hmm," Lindsey deadpanned.

Sabriena relaxed her posture. "Ah, screw it."

"Maybe this is a conversation better left for just the girls, Sabriena," Chichi said in a motherly tone.

Sabriena nodded. "Yes, MOM."

The conversation around them returned to normal, but a couple minutes later, Sabriena said quietly to Lindsey, "You think I should get them done?"

"Honey, it's your body, you do what you want," Lindsey answered in an equally quiet tone.

"You're no help," Sabriena hissed. She turned and looked up at Tien, who had been listening to their hushed conversation. "What do you think?"

He choked and turned a bright shade of red as he looked down at her. "They… um… look fine to me."

She screwed up her face in thought for a minute and stared down at her chest, then shrugged. "Okay then." And just like that, the idea of plastic surgery was gone from Sabriena's mind.

* * *

Bulma had picked up Paige and announced that she was going to get a bath and promptly carried her off to the bathroom, teasing her about getting more cake on her than in her tummy.

Jenny was holding Alice, looking around for Vegeta who had inconspicuously slipped away from the party during Sabriena's surgery debate. She glanced around, making sure no one was paying her any attention, and slipped up the stairs, looking for him.

She found him lounging on a couch in a smaller family room, the lights low, staring off into space. He leaned his head back on the couch and looked at her.

"Hiding?" she asked as she moved to sit next to him.

"That friend of yours in incorrigible" he stated.

Jenny snickered. "Sabriena's an acquired taste."

He snorted.

Jenny yawned and leaned her head back on the couch. "I never sleep anymore."

He didn't respond.

She wiggled around on the couch, trying to get comfortable while balancing Alice in her arms. After watching her for several minutes, Vegeta sighed.

"Give her here."

"Huh?" Jenny asked in surprise.

"Alice. Give her to me."

Jenny handed the tiny, sleeping baby over to Vegeta, who laid the baby against his chest.

"You rest. I've got her."

"You… You sure?" Jenny asked.

He nodded. "If you ever tell anyone…"

"You'll kill me and deny it ever happened," she muttered. "I know, I know. Thanks, Vegeta." She curled up on her side, laying her head on the armrest of the couch, and tucked her feet in between Vegeta and the couch.

"You're pushing it," he warned.

"My feet are cold," she murmured as she closed her eyes and drifted soundly off to sleep.

Vegeta sighed and leaned back against the couch, tiny baby Alice curled up on his chest, just beneath his chin. She sighed contentedly and didn't stir again and he leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling, wondering what in the world had gotten into him.

* * *

"Where's your mommy?" Bulma asked Paige as she zipped up the warm, pink footie pajamas. She set Paige on the floor and watch with amusement as Paige toddled to the door, watching her feet as she went as though she was amazed with herself.

Bulma opened the door and looked up and down the hallway. She could hear the party still going strong downstairs, but Paige was hurrying up the hallway towards the private family room.

"You come back here," Bulma scolded, but laughed.

Paige had pushed on the door, slapping it with her tiny hands. Bulma humored her and opened it. She blinked in shock when she saw Vegeta and Jenny asleep on the couch, Alice totally zonked out on his chest. Vegeta's left hand was lying protectively over Alice's tiny back, his right hand dangled off the couch as he snored softly.

"Well, well, well," Bulma smirked.

"Papaw!" Paige said, toddling over to him. She grabbed his fingers and tugged. "Papaw!"

Vegeta's eyes fluttered open and he woke with a slight start. He looked down at the tiny person demanding his attention.

"You tired, hon?" Bulma asked softly as she crouched down next to Paige.

"Didn't mean to fall asleep," Vegeta muttered.

"It's okay," Bulma said and started to pick up Paige. "You rest. I'll clear everyone out here in a little bit."

Vegeta nodded, but Paige squirmed in Bulma's arms. She was reaching for Vegeta, crying "Papaw! Papaw!"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Where the blazes did she get that?"

Bulma snickered. "I have no idea. But she better not call me Grandma. I'm too young for that."

"PAPAW!" Paige insisted, reaching harder towards Vegeta.

A small smirk pulled at his lips. "Leave her here."

Bulma handed Paige to Vegeta and he pulled her up on his chest with his free arm. She leaned over and pressed her opened mouth against his cheekbone like she was going to nom his face.

"Babies give such funny kisses," Bulma giggled.

Vegeta wrinkled his nose as Bulma left and firmly shut the door. Paige grabbed at his face and he snickered. "What do you want?"

"'ove 'ou, Papaw," Paige said sweetly and laid her head down on his chest, patting his arm with her little hand.

Vegeta set his jaw hard and looked up at the ceiling, huffing, but settled back against the couch again and closed his eyes once more. Jenny would hear about this when she woke up. But for now, he just wanted to rest and let them sleep.

* * *

Author's Final Note: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed my story! It means a lot to me! And a special thank you to Jenny for bringing me so much inspiration and wonderful (if sometimes naughty) brainstorming! I will post the beginning of a new story in a few days, which will follow Leelee and Seventeen's story as they try to deal with her life after being attacked by the dragon. Check my profile for updates! (Or leave a comment letting me know if you want me to send you a message when the new one posts.) Thanks again!


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